Oct. 6, 2010
BOOK REVIEW: 'Stealing the Mystic Lamb'
Strange World of Art Theft Revealed With Emphasis on the Most Frequently Stolen Artwork of All Time
Reviewed By David M. Kinchen
Question: What Is the Most Frequently stolen artwork of all time?
Answer: Read Noah Charney's "Stealing the Mystic Lamb: The True Story of the World's Most Coveted Masterpiece" (PublicAffairs, 336 pages, color and black and white photographs, notes and sources, bibliography, index, $27.95) to discover that truth is indeed stranger than fiction in the world of art theft and looting.
Charney, author of the international best-selling novel "The Art Thief", focuses his nonfiction thriller-like book on Flemish artist Jan van Eyck's Ghent Altarpiece -- often referred to by the subject of its central panel "The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb" -- a gigantic, seminal oil painting that bridges the gap between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.
Since its completion in 1432 the 12-panel folding Ghent Altarpiece, housed in the Saint Bavo Cathedral in Ghent, Belgium, has been looted in three different wars, burned, dismembered, forged, smuggled, illegally sold, censored, hidden, attacked by iconoclasts, hunted by the Nazis and Napoleon, used as a diplomatic tool, ransomed, rescued by Austrian double-agents, and stolen a total of thirteen times.
In a book that will appeal to fans of Lynn H. Nicholas's 1995 book about Nazi Germany's theft of artwork in World War II Europe, "The Rape of Europa" as well as readers of thrillers from Dan Brown and other writers, Charney provides a detailed history of the Ghent Altarpiece, educating the reader why the barn-wall-sized masterpiece is significant in the development of painting and the history of art in general. We learn a great deal about van Eyck (1395?-1441) and the controversy over who painted the work. Some experts say it was begun by van Eyck's older brother Hubert in 1425 and completed by Jan van Eyck.
Charney chronicles the stories of each of the thefts. In the process, he illuminates the whole fascinating history of art crime, and the psychological, ideological, religious, political, and social motivations that have led many men to covet this one masterpiece above all others. As a bonus, art historian Charney supplies the reader with an easy-to-understand account of art appreciation.
Art looting wasn't invented by the Nazis, although they excelled in it as soon as they took control of Germany in 1933. It's something that has existed throughout history as conquering armies sought treasures from the people they defeated.
Before the arrival of the Nazis, the champion art thief was Napoleon Bonaparte. Charney writes about Napoleon's acquisition syndrome, which began as a way for the impoverished French government to pay its troops and ended up being formalized with with strict instructions on the removal of artworks and the appointment of "art czars" who were in charge of the selection process and responsible for delivery of the looted art to Paris.
Charney writes that Napoleon was no art expert, but rather a man who admired works based on their size and historical importance. During Napoleon's 1798 campaign in Egypt, the French stole the famous Rosetta Stone (now in the British Museum) and looted many antiquities. French troops also damaged the Sphinx. (The Luxor Obelisk on the Place de la Concorde, was obtained by the French in the middle 1830s, long after Napoleon's death).
But, as Nicholas points out in her comprehensive book -- and Charney confirms in "Stealing the Mystic Lamb" -- the Nazis quickly surpassed the French when it came to art theft, stealing from Jewish families in the beginning and looting throughout German-occupied Europe -- including France -- as the war progressed. Hitler, an art student in his youth in Vienna, fancied himself an expert on the subject, as did avid looter of European art Hermann Goering. In fact, there was a rivalry among the top Nazi leaders for desired art works.
The discovery of a major part of van Eyck's Ghent Altarpiece during the closing months of World War II reads like a spy thriller. The book opens with the Ghent Altarpiece and concludes with the discovery of it in a very unusual place. I'm treating this like a novel, so I won't spoil it by saying where.
About the author
Noah Charney is the author of "The Art Thief" and is the founding director of The Association for Research into Crimes Against Art, an international non-profit think tank. His work in the field of art crime has been praised in such forums as The New York Times Magazine, Time magazine, Vanity Fair, Vogue, BBC Radio, and NPR. Currently professor of art history at the American University of Rome, he lives in Italy with his wife, Urska, and their Peruvian Hairless dog Hubert van Eyck.
Share This Story:
Make HNN Your Homepage (IE Users Only)
BOOK REVIEW: 'Stealing the Mystic Lamb'
Strange World of Art Theft Revealed With Emphasis on the Most Frequently Stolen Artwork of All Time
Reviewed By David M. Kinchen
Question: What Is the Most Frequently stolen artwork of all time?
Answer: Read Noah Charney's "Stealing the Mystic Lamb: The True Story of the World's Most Coveted Masterpiece" (PublicAffairs, 336 pages, color and black and white photographs, notes and sources, bibliography, index, $27.95) to discover that truth is indeed stranger than fiction in the world of art theft and looting.
Charney, author of the international best-selling novel "The Art Thief", focuses his nonfiction thriller-like book on Flemish artist Jan van Eyck's Ghent Altarpiece -- often referred to by the subject of its central panel "The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb" -- a gigantic, seminal oil painting that bridges the gap between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.
Since its completion in 1432 the 12-panel folding Ghent Altarpiece, housed in the Saint Bavo Cathedral in Ghent, Belgium, has been looted in three different wars, burned, dismembered, forged, smuggled, illegally sold, censored, hidden, attacked by iconoclasts, hunted by the Nazis and Napoleon, used as a diplomatic tool, ransomed, rescued by Austrian double-agents, and stolen a total of thirteen times.
In a book that will appeal to fans of Lynn H. Nicholas's 1995 book about Nazi Germany's theft of artwork in World War II Europe, "The Rape of Europa" as well as readers of thrillers from Dan Brown and other writers, Charney provides a detailed history of the Ghent Altarpiece, educating the reader why the barn-wall-sized masterpiece is significant in the development of painting and the history of art in general. We learn a great deal about van Eyck (1395?-1441) and the controversy over who painted the work. Some experts say it was begun by van Eyck's older brother Hubert in 1425 and completed by Jan van Eyck.
Charney chronicles the stories of each of the thefts. In the process, he illuminates the whole fascinating history of art crime, and the psychological, ideological, religious, political, and social motivations that have led many men to covet this one masterpiece above all others. As a bonus, art historian Charney supplies the reader with an easy-to-understand account of art appreciation.
Art looting wasn't invented by the Nazis, although they excelled in it as soon as they took control of Germany in 1933. It's something that has existed throughout history as conquering armies sought treasures from the people they defeated.
Before the arrival of the Nazis, the champion art thief was Napoleon Bonaparte. Charney writes about Napoleon's acquisition syndrome, which began as a way for the impoverished French government to pay its troops and ended up being formalized with with strict instructions on the removal of artworks and the appointment of "art czars" who were in charge of the selection process and responsible for delivery of the looted art to Paris.
Charney writes that Napoleon was no art expert, but rather a man who admired works based on their size and historical importance. During Napoleon's 1798 campaign in Egypt, the French stole the famous Rosetta Stone (now in the British Museum) and looted many antiquities. French troops also damaged the Sphinx. (The Luxor Obelisk on the Place de la Concorde, was obtained by the French in the middle 1830s, long after Napoleon's death).
But, as Nicholas points out in her comprehensive book -- and Charney confirms in "Stealing the Mystic Lamb" -- the Nazis quickly surpassed the French when it came to art theft, stealing from Jewish families in the beginning and looting throughout German-occupied Europe -- including France -- as the war progressed. Hitler, an art student in his youth in Vienna, fancied himself an expert on the subject, as did avid looter of European art Hermann Goering. In fact, there was a rivalry among the top Nazi leaders for desired art works.
The discovery of a major part of van Eyck's Ghent Altarpiece during the closing months of World War II reads like a spy thriller. The book opens with the Ghent Altarpiece and concludes with the discovery of it in a very unusual place. I'm treating this like a novel, so I won't spoil it by saying where.
About the author
Noah Charney is the author of "The Art Thief" and is the founding director of The Association for Research into Crimes Against Art, an international non-profit think tank. His work in the field of art crime has been praised in such forums as The New York Times Magazine, Time magazine, Vanity Fair, Vogue, BBC Radio, and NPR. Currently professor of art history at the American University of Rome, he lives in Italy with his wife, Urska, and their Peruvian Hairless dog Hubert van Eyck.
Share This Story:
Make HNN Your Homepage (IE Users Only)
