2024-04-16
A court in Alkmaar (northwestern Netherlands) handed down a four-year prison sentence at the beginning of May for a failed attempt to steal a painting by Claud Monet (1840-1926). On 15 August 2021, 49-year-old Henk B. took the work off the museum wall and ran out of the building. No one was hurt in the incident.
A painting by Claude Monet belonging to the collection of the museum in Zaandam fell victim to an audacious theft attempt. According to the court, which convicted the thief, the attack was as follows: a man entered the Zaans Museum, pulled a painting off the wall and tried to leave with it. His accomplice was waiting for him outside the museum. They were both armed and at least one shot was fired. The painting probably fell to the ground during the escape attempt. Marieke Verweij, acting director of the Zaandam museum, said in a press statement that: 'We are currently investigating whether the painting was damaged in this incident, which means that we cannot put it on display at the moment.
The court ruled that because the incident took place on a Sunday, there were many staff members and visitors in the museum, so the shots frightened many people, including children.
Interestingly, the convicted Henk B. had stolen two Van Gogh paintings in the past (in 2002). The works were later found with Italian mafia member Raffaele Imperiale when he was arrested in Dubai. The works were returned to the Amsterdam museum shortly after the incident.
Monet's painting "De Voorzaan en de Westerhem" was painted in 1871, in the early phase of the painter's career. The viewer can see windmills in the town of Zaandam, which no longer exists. The work is in an impressionistic style with a limited colour palette. It seems that the artist wanted to evoke a feeling of peace in the viewer. The work was purchased for €1.16 million in 2015.
The name Impressionism itself was born around another painting by Monet. It was first used by the critic and illustrator Louis Leroy in a satirical review, he referred to one of the artist's oil paintings: ,'Impression Sunrise' (1872).
© Picture: [https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bestand:Claude_Monet,_De_Voorzaan_en_de_Westerhem,_1871_(kolekcja_Zaans_Museum).jpg#metadata], author: [ Willemijn92 ].