Love how this work is used in bad guy's lairs in films and TV (His Dark Materials and Mr Burns in The Simpsons) to show them as world-class villains.
I spoke to an art historian who is convinced they'll turn up, as in art history 35 years isn't that long a time. Her view was that these things turn up when people die so if they do turn up it'll probably be when the holder of them dies and people find the works in their belongings. Fingers crossed that happens.
I must admit, I don't watch many films or TV Shows - but that is really funny to know it pops up like that! I will definitely be looking out for it in the future!
And it's encouraging that the historian you spoke to had that opinion. I suppose it can go both ways - either the holder dies, and the work is found . . . or they die, and take the secret of its location to the grave with them.
But personally, I definitely prefer to remain hopeful for it turning up again at some point.
There is a pregnant pause, a way in which we are led to listen to the stolen space as well as picture it. Well written!
There are two things we know about Vermeer which encourage its eventual return or surfacing. They are both pointed out in the article, I will take them a step further. 1. Because so few works were created by him, they are very very coveted and respected, world wide. 2. Because this happened 20 years ago the guilty are/will be aging and dying at some point.
Imagine being the ‘inheritor’ of a stolen Masterpiece. Any movement of it can and will be tracked. Sitting on it, protecting it, continually looking over one’s shoulder regarding it has to get old for a next generation at some point. It has NO monetary value because it cannot be sold. Pride of ownership is limited before no one can know you have it. So what is the return?
To Return IT.
Through some surreptitious construct, the value of being the ‘one to recover’ will be greater than being the one who hides.
The loss of “The Concert” always breaks my heart. Vermeer, along with Hopper, is my favorite painter and the fact we have so few of his works makes the loss of “The Concert” even stronger. Honestly, I think this one, along with the rest of the Gardner theft, has been destroyed, either intentionally or through neglect and improper storage. So much of the Gardner theft points to amateur (at least in the field of art crime) crooks being the perpetrators: the fact that the paintings were cut from their frames, the length of time they were in the building, the weird theft of the Napoleonic eagle standard, etc.
As much as I would love to see “The Concert” hanging in Dr. Evil’s lair or tucked away in some climate controlled, Swiss free port, my gut tells me the Gardner paintings were not so well loved, and time and the elements did their damage. Methinks the thieves learned a hard lesson with their haul: yes, those paintings may be worth tens of millions of dollars, but good luck finding a buyer willing to pay that and take the heat for such famously stolen goods.
Yes, it is definitely a heart breaking loss. And I'm sure many people will agree with you about the chances that it has been lost forever.
But personally, I still can't help nursing that small hope in my heart that they survived somehow (even if the thieves soon realised their heist would not be profitable as they thought)
Yes, it's a dream that becomes less likely with every passing year. But as Tabish says in one of the other comments here today, 35 years is still not considered all that long in terms of these investigations. So . . . I guess I like to just frame this as it's unlikely, but not impossible!
Quite the interesting story on this painting. I wonder if any of the other paintings that were stolen at the same time have been recovered and returned to the museum.
Sadly all still missing. There's a Netflix documentary about it called 'this is a robbery' that essentially speculates a lot but has no idea where they are.
Wow. Amazing story. I wonder how art from a museum can be stolen. Even if it's an inside job, it seems there would be alarms and all kinds of security measures.
It is always interesting to see the paintings within the paintings. What an elaborate inside cover to the piano! Might it be more decorative than actually meant to be played?
The painting on the right looks almost like a Picasso, 300 years early.
I agree, Jeff. Vermeer seemed to take a special pleasure in making his objects overly decorative, simply because it allowed him to create that kind of "paintings within paintings"
The Isabella Stewart Gardener Museum heist is a story that will always haunt me because I was a high school art student when this happened (1988-1992). When I was a teenager part of my homework was to take the T down to the museums and copy art in a sketchbook. The Isabella (as I liked to call it) was my favorite place of all. So I got to see the place before and after the theft. It was this horrible feeling, to see the paintings literally cut with a blade out of their frames. This summer was the 100th anniversary of Isabella Stewart Gardener's death, and I wrote a post about it here:
Wow, that's amazing. To see the place before the theft and then after it too must really have heightened those emotions for you. Thank you for sharing.
Yeah, I was 15yo going on 16 so it was a formative time for me. I wasn’t a fantastic student, but art was something I understood on my own terms. That’s how art works, especially when you’re young and your mind is influenced by growth hormones and events outside of your control. Since the time I was little, museums were always safe places for me: quiet, beautiful, without judgement of adults or peers — thus this theft really felt like an act of violence.
I feel exactly that way too about museums and galleries being safe spaces.
Admittedly, my interest in art didn’t come quite as early as yours, as I would have been around 18 or 19. But definitely, I can relate to that feeling of understanding something on our own terms.
Didn't a man in Switzerland die in recent years and they found his flat full of stolen art treasures. Not these of course. He was poor and I think his job was as a waiter and I think it was his Dad who stole all the stuff and he "inherited" it and kept it all wrapped up under the bed. Maybe one day a similar discovery will be made. I must say the bells started ringing in my head at the words about the FBI "quickly" saying a search might not be fruitful. Hmmm.
There was an art heist in Montreal of a similar scale in the 70s, likewise still unsolved https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1972_Montreal_Museum_of_Fine_Arts_robbery
Interesting. Thank you for sharing this.
Love how this work is used in bad guy's lairs in films and TV (His Dark Materials and Mr Burns in The Simpsons) to show them as world-class villains.
I spoke to an art historian who is convinced they'll turn up, as in art history 35 years isn't that long a time. Her view was that these things turn up when people die so if they do turn up it'll probably be when the holder of them dies and people find the works in their belongings. Fingers crossed that happens.
I must admit, I don't watch many films or TV Shows - but that is really funny to know it pops up like that! I will definitely be looking out for it in the future!
And it's encouraging that the historian you spoke to had that opinion. I suppose it can go both ways - either the holder dies, and the work is found . . . or they die, and take the secret of its location to the grave with them.
But personally, I definitely prefer to remain hopeful for it turning up again at some point.
Mirrors my comment above. I believe so.
There is a pregnant pause, a way in which we are led to listen to the stolen space as well as picture it. Well written!
There are two things we know about Vermeer which encourage its eventual return or surfacing. They are both pointed out in the article, I will take them a step further. 1. Because so few works were created by him, they are very very coveted and respected, world wide. 2. Because this happened 20 years ago the guilty are/will be aging and dying at some point.
Imagine being the ‘inheritor’ of a stolen Masterpiece. Any movement of it can and will be tracked. Sitting on it, protecting it, continually looking over one’s shoulder regarding it has to get old for a next generation at some point. It has NO monetary value because it cannot be sold. Pride of ownership is limited before no one can know you have it. So what is the return?
To Return IT.
Through some surreptitious construct, the value of being the ‘one to recover’ will be greater than being the one who hides.
Wait and see! Human Nature will reveal itself.
Thanks, I'm glad to know you enjoyed the article. And I love the points you make here too.
The idea that it will eventually become more valuable to be the "one to recover" rather than "the one to keep" is a great way of putting it.
So I sincerely hope you are right. I suppose time will tell!
Thank you for your diligent contributions to the art pantheon here on Substack!
I saw another comment similar. It will be so. Time for Masterpieces is not like our own clock.
Looking at the background there is something square and Mondrainish about it
Considering Vermeer began his works with geometry, this is a good observation 🤗
Great observation, Liz.
The loss of “The Concert” always breaks my heart. Vermeer, along with Hopper, is my favorite painter and the fact we have so few of his works makes the loss of “The Concert” even stronger. Honestly, I think this one, along with the rest of the Gardner theft, has been destroyed, either intentionally or through neglect and improper storage. So much of the Gardner theft points to amateur (at least in the field of art crime) crooks being the perpetrators: the fact that the paintings were cut from their frames, the length of time they were in the building, the weird theft of the Napoleonic eagle standard, etc.
As much as I would love to see “The Concert” hanging in Dr. Evil’s lair or tucked away in some climate controlled, Swiss free port, my gut tells me the Gardner paintings were not so well loved, and time and the elements did their damage. Methinks the thieves learned a hard lesson with their haul: yes, those paintings may be worth tens of millions of dollars, but good luck finding a buyer willing to pay that and take the heat for such famously stolen goods.
Yes, it is definitely a heart breaking loss. And I'm sure many people will agree with you about the chances that it has been lost forever.
But personally, I still can't help nursing that small hope in my heart that they survived somehow (even if the thieves soon realised their heist would not be profitable as they thought)
Yes, it's a dream that becomes less likely with every passing year. But as Tabish says in one of the other comments here today, 35 years is still not considered all that long in terms of these investigations. So . . . I guess I like to just frame this as it's unlikely, but not impossible!
Quite the interesting story on this painting. I wonder if any of the other paintings that were stolen at the same time have been recovered and returned to the museum.
Sadly all still missing. There's a Netflix documentary about it called 'this is a robbery' that essentially speculates a lot but has no idea where they are.
Glad you enjoyed it, Nancy. And I can see Tabish has already answered here too - none of the others have been found either.
This is an excellent breadcrumb to follow for inquiring minds. Something I will look up as well.
Thanks, George. This is such a gorgeous painting. I sure hope it is found someday, but until then…thank you for keeping it in the spotlight.
Wow. Amazing story. I wonder how art from a museum can be stolen. Even if it's an inside job, it seems there would be alarms and all kinds of security measures.
Yes, it's quite a difficult thing to pull off. And certainly nowadays. security is a lot higher than ever before.
But this is why I enjoy covering these things on here every so often too. Some of the thefts that have happened in the past really are unbelievable!
It is always interesting to see the paintings within the paintings. What an elaborate inside cover to the piano! Might it be more decorative than actually meant to be played?
The painting on the right looks almost like a Picasso, 300 years early.
I agree, Jeff. Vermeer seemed to take a special pleasure in making his objects overly decorative, simply because it allowed him to create that kind of "paintings within paintings"
The Isabella Stewart Gardener Museum heist is a story that will always haunt me because I was a high school art student when this happened (1988-1992). When I was a teenager part of my homework was to take the T down to the museums and copy art in a sketchbook. The Isabella (as I liked to call it) was my favorite place of all. So I got to see the place before and after the theft. It was this horrible feeling, to see the paintings literally cut with a blade out of their frames. This summer was the 100th anniversary of Isabella Stewart Gardener's death, and I wrote a post about it here:
https://open.substack.com/pub/zinagomezliss/p/mrs-jacks-palace-of-impermanence?r=fjyz7&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
Wow, that's amazing. To see the place before the theft and then after it too must really have heightened those emotions for you. Thank you for sharing.
Yeah, I was 15yo going on 16 so it was a formative time for me. I wasn’t a fantastic student, but art was something I understood on my own terms. That’s how art works, especially when you’re young and your mind is influenced by growth hormones and events outside of your control. Since the time I was little, museums were always safe places for me: quiet, beautiful, without judgement of adults or peers — thus this theft really felt like an act of violence.
I feel exactly that way too about museums and galleries being safe spaces.
Admittedly, my interest in art didn’t come quite as early as yours, as I would have been around 18 or 19. But definitely, I can relate to that feeling of understanding something on our own terms.
Very pathetic to know about this heist.
Didn't a man in Switzerland die in recent years and they found his flat full of stolen art treasures. Not these of course. He was poor and I think his job was as a waiter and I think it was his Dad who stole all the stuff and he "inherited" it and kept it all wrapped up under the bed. Maybe one day a similar discovery will be made. I must say the bells started ringing in my head at the words about the FBI "quickly" saying a search might not be fruitful. Hmmm.
This post seems to fact check. So happy! After the praying hands mythinformation, I am working hard to rebuild trust.