Seven masterpieces, including paintings by Picasso, Matisse, Monet and Gauguin, were stolen from a Dutch museum in a pre-dawn heist Tuesday, police said, with an expert adding the haul could be worth up to 200 million euros ($260 million).

Alerted by an alarm but arriving at the museum in Rotterdam after the thief or thieves had fled, police said they had launched a major investigation that includes interviewing possible witnesses and examining closed-circuit television.

“On Tuesday morning seven artworks were stolen from the Kunsthal in Rotterdam,” police said in a statement, adding the burglary took place at around 3:00 in the morning.

The art theft is the biggest in the Netherlands in more than 20 years.

Museum director Emily Ansenk, who flew back to Rotterdam after hearing of the theft during a visit to Turkey, told a press conference that what had happened was “a nightmare for any museum.”

The stolen paintings were ”unique works that are known around the world,“ she said.

They are Pablo Picasso‘s ”Tete d’Arlequin“, Henri Matisse‘s ”La Liseuse en Blanc et Jaune“, Claude Monet’s ”Waterloo Bridge, London“ and ”Charing Cross Bridge, London“, Paul Gauguin‘s ”Femme Devant une Fenetre Ouverte, dite La Fiancee“, Meyer de Haan’s ”Autoportrait“ and Lucian Freud‘s ”Woman with Eyes Closed“.

After having initially declined to name the stolen paintings, the police said that after consulting with the owners, they can now release photographs of the works.

The chairman of the museum’s board, Willem van Hassel, told journalists that ”technical security had been chosen deliberately which meant that nobody was at the museum but there was video.“

He declined to discuss the value of the stolen works, but an expert at the Cornette de Saint-Cyr auction house in Paris who requested anonymity said the paintings were worth ”between 150 and 200 million euros.“

”A major investigation is under way and forensics are at the scene,“ Rotterdam police spokeswoman Patricia Wessels told AFP. ”We‘re investigating how they got access, what time it happened and who did it.“

Dutch state television showed a police forensic team dusting one of the Kunsthal’s outer doors for fingerprints.

The NOS broadcaster said the haul was worth ”millions and millions of euros (dollars)“, but the paintings are so famous that it will be difficult to get anything like their real value on the black market.

It is the biggest art theft in The Netherlands since 20 paintings were stolen from Amsterdam‘s Van Gogh museum in 1991.

”We’re a bit shocked that something like this happens here and at the same time we have some respect for thieves who got away with something likes this,“ said student Ibo Bose, disappointed not to be able to visit the museum.

”Police are interviewing possible witnesses and examining closed-circuit video footage,“ the police statement said. ”An initial investigation suggests that the robbery was well prepared.“

The police spokeswoman said that police were alerted during the night when an alarm went off but the thief or thieves had made off by the time police arrived at the scene.

Museum director Ansenk said police arrived at the scene just five minutes after the alarm went off in Rotterdam‘s museum park where few people go at night.

The works were among the 150-strong Triton Foundation’s collection, which was being shown in its entirety to the public for the first time to mark the museum‘s 20th anniversary, the Kunsthal’s website said.

The collection ”has developed into one with an international reputation and which comprises representative works by the most important and influential artists of the late 19th century to the present day,“ it said.

The exhibition ”comprises works from almost every significant art movement,” it added.

The Kunsthal, which means “art hall,” has no permanent collection of its own. It will reopen on Wednesday, the museum said. (AFP)



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피카소, 모네 명화 도난, 피해액이 무려..!

피카소, 마티스, 모네, 고갱 등 미술 거장들의 작품 7점이 네덜란드 쿤스트할 박물관에서 지난 화요일 새벽 도난 당했다고 현지 경찰이 발표한 가운데, 피해액이 약 2억 유로(한화 약 2천9백억원)에 달할 것이라는 전문가들의 추산이 나왔다.

네덜란드 로테르담에 위치한 쿤스트할 물관에서 울린 도난 경보에 긴급 출동한 경찰은 이미 절도범들이 현장을 떠난 후에야 도착했다. 당국에서는 목격자 조사와 CCTV 검토를 포함한 대규모 수사에 나섰다고 밝혔다.

경찰은 성명 발표에서 이 범죄가 새벽 3시경 발생했다고 밝혔다. 이번 사건은 네덜란드에서 지난 20년간 발생한 가운데 최대 규모의 미술품 절도다.

이 미술관 관장인 에밀리 안셍크는 기자회견에서 이 사건에 대해 “악몽과도 같은 일”이라고 말하며 이번에 도난 당한 작품들이 “세계적으로 알려진 명작들”이라고 밝혔다.

도난 당한 일곱 점의 작품 가운데는 파블로 피카소의 ‘광대의 초상(Tete d‘Arlequin)’, 앙리 마티스의 ‘희고 노란 옷을 입은 책 읽는 여인(La Liseuse en Blanc et Jaune)’, 클로드 모네의 ‘런던의 워털루 다리(Waterloo Bridge, London)’와 ‘런던 차링크로스 다리(Charing Cross Bridge, London)’, 폴 고갱의 ‘약혼녀라 불리는 창 앞의 여자(Femme Devant une Fenetre Ouverte, dite La Fiancee)’ 등이 포함됐다.

경찰 당국에서는 애초 도난 작품들의 이름을 공개하지 않았지만 이후 주인들의 동의로 이 작품들의 사진을 공개했다.

박물관 이사회의 회장 빌럼 반 하셀은 도난 당한 작품들의 가격을 공개하지 않았으나 프랑스 경매회사 꼬르네뜨 생 시르(Cornette de Saint-Cyr)의 익명의 관계자에 따르면 이 작품들은 총 1.5유로에서 2억 유로에 달하는 가치를 지닌 것으로 알려졌다.

이번 사건은 박물관 개관 20주년을 기념해 처음으로 일반에 공개된 것이다. 쿤스트할 박물관 웹사이트는 이번 콜렉션에 대해 ‘세계적 명성을 지니고 있으며 19세기부터 현재에 이르기까지 가장 영향력 있는 작가들의 작품들로 구성되어 있다’고 설명하고 있다. (코리아헤럴드)