The Art Thief: A True Story of Love, Crime, and a Dangerous Obsession is a fascinating psychological profile of Stéphane Breitwieser and his girlfriend, Anne-Catherine Kleinklaus, as they weave their way across Europe stealing art and artifacts from museums, averaging about three heists a month. Unlike other art thieves who steal for profit, Breitwieser steals because he loves art and wants to own it, and his choices range from antique weapons to chalices to paintings.He performs his heists in broad daylight, performing these acts more by sleight-of-hand than the heists seen in movies where larcenists dodge laser beams and alarms to steal works of art. He eventually amasses two billions dollars worth of these “gems.”
The book includes insights from psychologists into Breitwieser’s psyche as well as those of his mother and his lover and thoughts from the police who interrogated him. He was raised in a wealthy household among such objects, but when his father leaves his mother, Stéphane and his mother begin a much less lush lifestyle, and part of his obsession seems to be to replicate his early childhood and to out-do his father’s collection. His mother spoils him, and his girlfriend tolerates his thieving enough to help him by standing guard or by taking their haul out in her handbag. His obsession is interesting to read and speculate about. His punishment, for the amount he stole, though, seems ridiculously light. A interesting, but fun, light read.
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The Art Thief: A True Story of Love, Crime, and a Dangerous Obsession (Vintage, June 25, 2024) is available though:
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