Stéphane Breitwieser

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Stéphane Breitwieser in the "salon du livre" from Colmar, France, 26 November 2006

Stéphane Breitwieser (born 1971) is a French art thief who admitted to stealing 239 artworks and other exhibits from museums worth an estimated US$1.4 billion while travelling around Europe and working as a waiter.

He is different from most other art thieves in that he did not steal for any profit motive. He was an art connoisseur who stole in order to build a vast personal collection, 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 enormity 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.

His first theft came in March of 1995 during a visit to the medieval castle at Gruyères, Switzerland with his girlfriend Anne-Catherine Kleinklauss. He became entranced with a small painting by Christian Wilhelm 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, he removed the painting from its frame and slipped it under his jacket.

The most valuable work of art he stole was "Sybille, Princess of Cleves" by Lucas Cranach the Elder from a small museum in Baden-Baden in 1995. Its estimated value is £5-£5.6 million.

In November 2001, he was finally caught while attempting to steal a Bugle from a museum in Lucerne, Switzerland.

Although he amassed such a large collection of art, he never attempted to sell any of it. It was all kept in his bedroom in his mother's house in Mulhouse, France. When his mother heard of his arrest she proceeded to destroy many of the works, leaving the remains in the trash. Other artworks were simply thrown into the nearby Rhone-Rhine Canal.

On January 7, 2005 he was sentenced to 3 years by a court in Strasbourg but will only serve 26 months. The day before his sentencing he attempted to hang himself but was stopped after another inmate alerted guards. His mother also received a 3 year sentence but will only serve 18 months and his girlfriend received 18 months with 6 to serve.

Around 110 pieces from his collection have been recovered, leaving another 60 unaccounted for, presumed destroyed, including:

Pieter Brueghel the Younger - Cheat Profiting From His Master
Antoine Watteau - Two Men
François Boucher - Sleeping Shepherd
Corneille de Lyon - Mary, Queen of Scots

Breitwiesser wrote an autobiography of his exploits, titled Confessions d'un Voleur d'art (Confessions of an Art Theif). The book is, currently, only available in French.

[edit] Bibliography

(French language): Vincent Noce, la Collection égoïste: la folle aventure d'un voleur d'art en série et autres histoires édifiantes. – Paris: Jean-Claude Lattès, 2005. – 327 p., 23 cm. – ISBN 2-7096-2441-9.