Masterpieces made famous by theft [Book Review]

For much of its existence, Leonardo da Vinci's "Mona Lisa" attracted little attention. Even when the painting vanished from a wall of the Louvre in Paris one day in August 1911, no one immediately noticed. What at first seemed like a routine removal for restoration or loan was soon revealed to be a theft — and the world was turned upside down.

Magazines and newspapers splashed the story across their pages, and crowds flocked to the museum just to stare at the empty wall where the painting had hung. The thief turned out to be an Italian handyman who had worked at the museum. It took roughly 30 months before he was arrested and the "Mona Lisa" was returned to the Louvre. In the interim, the painting's fame soared, and within two days of its return it drew at least 120,000 visitors. The legend of the "Mona Lisa," as the world knows it today, was forged by that theft.

British art historian Suzy Hodge's book "The Looted Art Museum" traces 24 heists from around the world, following in vivid detail how each work disappeared and what became of it. The works covered include many widely recognized masterpieces — among them da Vinci's "Mona Lisa," Edvard Munch's "The Scream," paintings by Vincent van Gogh, and silkscreens by Andy Warhol.

Art theft holds obvious appeal for criminals. Works are relatively easy to transport and conceal, yet their value can reach astronomical sums. In the early 21st century, the FBI estimated that art stolen worldwide each year was worth between $4 billion and $6 billion. Art theft ranks as the world's fourth-largest category of crime, behind drug trafficking, money laundering and illegal arms dealing. The author notes that today only one in 10 stolen artworks is ever recovered.

The largest and most systematic looting of art in history was carried out by Nazi Germany. During World War II, Nazi forces seized some 650,000 works of art from across Europe, deploying special units under the guise of "protecting" cultural property. Adolf Hitler intended to use the collection to establish a Führer museum, but that ambition was never realized. The author describes Hitler — twice rejected by the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts, consumed by envy of contemporary artists, and possessed of unremarkable taste — as "a failed artist."

The work most frequently stolen in history is the Ghent Altarpiece, housed in St. Bavo's Cathedral in Ghent, Belgium. The 12-panel altarpiece, painted by brothers Hubert and Jan van Eyck, has survived nearly 600 years of theft, Calvinist riots and the ravages of World War I. One panel, "The Just Judges," was stolen in the early 1930s and has never been found.

In 2010, five works by Picasso, Matisse and others disappeared from the Paris Museum of Modern Art, taken by a thief nicknamed "Spiderman." Two years later, seven paintings — including works by Picasso and Monet — were stolen from the Kunsthal museum in Rotterdam, Netherlands. In both cases the perpetrators were caught, but the works were never recovered.

What is striking is that all of these thefts were carried out with breathtaking boldness, exploiting glaring gaps in security. Priceless masterpieces were ripped away by people who had no appreciation for what they were taking. When Munch's "The Scream" — stolen twice — was first taken, the thieves left behind a note reading "Thanks for the poor security," a pointed reminder of how lax attitudes toward protecting art had become.

When art thefts occur, the first question most people ask — and the one the media tends to lead with — is how much the stolen work was worth. The author pushes back against that instinct, returning again and again to the argument that what we lose when a painting disappears is not a price tag.

"Art gives pleasure, allows us to glimpse the lives and perspectives of others, and enriches the world we live in," the author writes. "The harm a thief does to all of us when art is stolen cannot be measured in money. To have art stolen is to lose part of our culture."

"The Looted Art Museum" by Suzy Hodge, translated by Ahn Jin-i / Hyundai Jiseong