Wanted: The 10 Most Egregious Art Crimes
Like a good summer book, this mystery is worth learning about and maybe finding clues to solve the FBI’s top 10 art crimes.
This one below is the most egregious to me since I’m a huge fan of Caravaggio’s work. He’s one of my favorite painters. Many of his works were lost initially after being painted — paid off for bad debts, etc., due to the criminal lifestyle that he lead, so the fact that we see any is a rarity and for one to go missing is certainly a tragedy. Luckily for us, he was such an exceptional painter that he had many prominent commissions that essentially document his work for us to see long after his lifetime.
This is not one of his better paintings but it’s interesting to me that it is likely it was stolen by other Italian thieves, probably the Mafia. And, fortunately, it, out of all the paintings mentioned, has the most hope of being found since it has come up in relation to two Mafia related criminal trial cases. Read here for more info.
It’s not the only one of Caravaggio’s paintings that has been stolen. The Taking of Christ is one of his masterpieces and frankly, I’m surprised it wasn’t mentioned in this article I reference. I don’t think it’s been found. Here’s a previous post.
casart
I'm an artist, wife and mother of two boys. I started my illustration business, The Occasional Palette over 35 years ago, when my oldest son was an infant. Once my children were in school, I began painting decorative, faux finishes and murals through my second business, Casart, now over 30 years old. My third business, Casart Coverings, is a springboard from my second. Click on the link on the sidebar to see innovative, custom, designer wallcovering, removable and reusable wallpaper and coordinating decor.
