These are the biggest art thefts in history

Four masked thieves needed just seven minutes to break into the Louvre and escape with an invaluable haul. This heist recalls the greatest art thefts in history, from the Mona Lisa to masterpieces by Rembrandt and Vermeer.

Seven minutes was all it took four masked thieves to break into the Louvre and escape with priceless loot. Paris is in an uproar, and the art world watches with bated breath. But as audacious as this heist is, history (unfortunately) knows even greater…

Last Sunday, October 19th, Paris was shocked by a spectacular art theft. Four masked burglars miraculously managed to steal priceless jewels from the world-famous Louvre Museum in just a few minutes.

The perpetrators smashed a first-floor window and gained access to the famous Galerie d'Apollon, where the crown jewels of Napoleon and the French kings are kept. There, they pierced display cases and disappeared with their loot within seven minutes. According to the French Ministry of the Interior, the loot included nine pieces of "priceless" jewelry, including a brooch, a necklace, and a tiara. Two of the jewels have since been recovered, presumably left behind during their escape, including the damaged crown of Empress Eugénie, the wife of Napoleon III.

The remaining pieces remain missing. The ministry acknowledges security shortcomings and emphasizes that it will do everything possible to return the precious pieces to the Louvre.

History repeats itself

This isn't the first time the Louvre has been the subject of a high-profile theft. On August 21, 1911, one of the most legendary art thefts ever took place. Italian museum worker Vincenzo Peruggia managed to smuggle the Mona Lisa out of the museum and hid the painting for two years in his apartment, just a kilometer from the Louvre.

Interestingly enough, it was this very theft that transformed the Mona Lisa into the world icon it is today.

Unsolved mystery

The largest art theft in history remains that of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston in 1990. Two men, disguised as police officers, managed to steal thirteen masterpieces in a single night, with an estimated value of over $500 million. Among the loot were works by Rembrandt, Degas, and Vermeer.

To this day, the case remains unsolved. The empty frames still hang on the museum walls, a reminder of a mystery that continues to fascinate the art world, and a symbol of hope for their return.

No painting, no crime

The Netherlands also has its own high-profile art thefts. In 2012, the Kunsthal Rotterdam made headlines worldwide when Romanian thieves managed to steal seven paintings in just a few minutes, including works by Pablo Picasso and Claude Monet. The perpetrators were later arrested in Romania and sentenced to five years in prison. However, the paintings, worth a combined total of approximately 18 million euros, were never recovered. The mother of one of the perpetrators even stated that she had burned the canvases, saying: "No paintings, no crime."