Stéphane Breitwieser (born 1 October 1971) is a French art thief and author, notorious for his art thefts between 1995 and 2001. He admitted to stealing 239 artworks and other exhibits from 172 museums while travelling around Europe and working as a waiter, an average of one theft every 15 days. The Guardian called him "arguably the world's most consistent art thief". He has also been called "one of the most prolific and successful art thieves who have ever lived", and "one of the greatest art thieves of all time". His thefts resulted in the destruction of many works of art, destroyed by his family to conceal evidence of his crimes.He differs from most other art thieves in that most of his thefts initially did not involve profit motive. He was a self-described art connoisseur who stole in order to build a personal collection of stolen works, particularly of 16th and 17th century masters. At his trial, the magistrate quoted him as saying, "I enjoy art. I love such works of art. I collected them and kept them at home." Despite the immensity of his collection, he was still able to recall every piece he stole. He interrupted the lengthy reading of his collection during his trial several times to correct various details. However, in 2016 evidence surfaced of further thefts for profit and he was arrested again.Thefts
According to journalist Michael Finkel's 2023 book The Art Thief, Breitwieser's first theft was in early 1994 in Thann, a medieval town in northeastern France. Breitwieser stole an 18th-century flintlock pistol from the Museum of the Friends of Thann. The second theft, as reported in The Art Thief, took place in February 1995. At that time, Breitwieser stole a medieval crossbow from a museum in the Alsatian mountains.His third theft was in March 1995 during a visit to the medieval castle at Gruyères, Switzerland, with his then-girlfriend Anne-Catherine Kleinklaus. He became entranced with a small painting of a woman by the 18th-century German painter Christian Wilhelm Ernst Dietrich, later saying: "I was fascinated by her beauty, by the qualities of the woman in the portrait and by her eyes. I thought it was an imitation of Rembrandt." With his girlfriend keeping watch, Breitwieser worked out the nails holding the painting in its frame and slipped it under his jacket. He would go on to use similar methods for thefts at other museums numbering at least 170 in the ensuing years. He would typically visit small collections and regional museums, where security was lax, and Kleinklaus would serve as his lookout as he cut the paintings from their frames.The single most valuable work of art he stole was Sybille, Princess of Cleves by Lucas Cranach the Elder from a castle in Baden-Baden in 1995. In 2003 The Guardian estimated that its value at auction would be more than £5 million (£8.7 million or €10 million adjusted for inflation in 2023). He cut it from its frame at a Sotheby's auction where it was to be sold.Breitwieser did not attempt to sell any of his large collection of art for profit at first; instead he enjoyed thinking about how he was "the wealthiest man in Europe." It was all kept in his bedroom in his mother's house in Mulhouse, France. His room was kept in semi-darkness so the sunlight would not fade the paintings. A local framer who reframed paintings for Breitwieser did not recognize the art as some of Europe's masterpieces. His mother, Mireille Breitwieser (née Stengel), thought the works had been bought at auction and only later suspected that he had not acquired them legitimately.Eventually around 110 pieces from his collection have been recovered, leaving another 60 unaccounted for, presumed destroyed. His collection included:
Pieter Brueghel the Younger - Cheat Profiting From His Master**, cut with scissors
Antoine Watteau - Two Men*
François Boucher - Sleeping Shepherd**, which Breitwieser kept by his pillow and his mother put in the garbage disposal
Corneille de Lyon - Madeleine of France, Queen of Scotland**, garbage disposal
David Teniers - The Monkey's Ball**, shredded with scissors*for those that are presumed destroyed, **for those that are known to be destroyed
