It was a story straight out of a thriller movie. In broad daylight, a painting by Claude Monet disappeared from the National Museum in Poznań. The thief replaced the impressionist work with a poor forgery. However, the employees of the institution noticed this only after a few days, when the work of art… was torn down. 15 years have passed since the restoration of the “Pourville Beach” painting.
Tuesday, September 19, 2000
Not much has happened since morning. Piotr Michalowski, curator of the European Art Gallery of the National Museum in Poznań, was sitting in his office on Przemyśl Hill. At one point the phone rang. He picked up the phone and heard: “Come here immediately, Monet is falling!”
He did not believe what he heard. He ran to the house where the painting by Claude Monet was hanging. The painting hung at the end of the room, right across the long corridor. When he saw it from a distance, he knew that what was hanging in the frame was certainly not the work of a French impressionist. Someone stole Pourville Beach!
The stolen picture of TVN 24 was hung here
– Color replaced with a low quality copy painted on Bristol board. It was clear that the thief was in a hurry, because he pushed it so carelessly into the frame that it came out on one side. The woman guarding the room noticed this and called me, she explained in the book Worthy Poznań Stories.
It was he who reported the theft to the police and the museum administration. Officers from all over Poland stood up. All border crossings were alerted as it was believed that the thief could take the painting out of the country. Everything was controlled – Poland was not yet in the Schengen area, and crossing the border was not as free as it is now.
In the evening, the whole of Poland was informed of a strange theft.
TVN TVN “Fakti” showed a photo of the wanted picture and informed about the first actions of the police:
“You see a photo of this plaque, which measures 60 by 73 centimeters (…) It is not clear how and when this theft took place. The criminals cut the picture out of the frame and replaced it with a copy. Poznań. The police chief has already created a special investigation team that is looking for both the painting and the thieves (…) According to the museum management, the painting is too famous to be sold, so it could be stolen at the request of the collector.
The story of the theft of Monet’s painting from the museum in Poznań on 18/09. TVN 24
A work that was restored and forgotten
Many residents of Poznań rubbed their eyes in surprise after receiving this information. They had no idea that the only painting by Monet in Poland would be seen in their city. It has been in the museum’s collection since 1906, when it was purchased by the then German managers of the facility.
But this does not mean that he was in Poznań all the time. In 1943, together with other works of art, it was sent to the Third Reich. Two years later, the painting was taken to Leningrad as stolen property. He returned to Poznań in 1956. After his return, he traveled throughout Poland – he was represented in exhibitions of restored works in many cities, until in the 1970s he was transferred to the branch of the National Museum in Rogalyn for almost 20 years. It has been hanging in Poznań since 1990. Until it is stolen.
The first actions of the police after the theft of the picture 18/09. | TVN 24
Stolen in broad daylight
The initial findings of the police were shocking. – It turned out that the painting was lost when the museum was opened, and the original copy was replaced by a poorly made forgery. During the inspection, we found traces on the frame and fake picture that could belong to the criminal, said Andrzej Borowiak, spokesman for the Greater Poland Police.
The fingerprints did not match anyone in the police records. Police suspicions focused on the man who painted the hanging painting in front of Monet. In the fax sent to the museum, he introduced himself as Jacek Walewski. He was supposed to be a student at the Academy of Fine Arts who wanted to practice hanging paintings in a museum. But since the theft, he has not been seen in the museum. After checking his data, it became clear that such a student does not exist and never existed.
His memorial portrait soon spread throughout Poland.
Memorial portrait of the wanted man TVN 24
They arrested the artist
The police found that the fax sent by the wanted person to the museum was sent in Olkuz. Suspicions fell on a local artist. This man was able to paint the replicas and match the appearance of the museum staff.
The police broke into his apartment and recovered some of his fakes. But the experts had no illusions – he could not draw a picture that was put in place of the original. “He has such a light hand that if he had really painted this copy, it would probably have been hanging until today, because he has the same light brushstrokes as Monet,” Wojciech Chmielewski told olkusztv.pl, owner of the Cor cafe. Tu, for which the artist painted a version of “The Beach at Pourville” many years later.
There was no other guide. The monetary reward did not help to identify the criminals. In 2001, the Prosecutor’s Office of the Poznan district stopped investigating the theft of the painting. It seemed that the painting would never return to the National Museum in Poznań.
He was arrested for alimony
Everything has changed after more than nine years. In 2006, Robert Zee’s fingerprints were included in police records after the man refused to pay child support. Three years later, when Marek Pawlicki, head of the fingerprint laboratory of the Poznań Regional Police, again compared the prints on the photo frame, it was found that they were identical to those on the “maintenance payer”. s file.
This 41-year-old man was arrested. He quickly admitted that he was indeed the one who stole Monet’s work in Poznań. He even claimed that he once went to Poznan to confess. He stood in front of the police station and resigned at the last moment. He hid the painting behind a wardrobe in his parents’ apartment.
Robert Z. explained that he did not act on the orders of anyone, but stole the canvas in order – here is a quote – “to enjoy the painting himself”. He said that he became interested in the Impressionists while in Paris.
Arrest for theft Moneta14/01 | The Poznań District Court sentenced Robert Z. to three months in prison on suspicion of stealing the painting “Plaza v Pourville” by Claude Monet in 2000. According to people investigating this case, this man may have accomplices. (TVN24)TVN24
This painting was restored on January 12, 2010, on the 60th anniversary of Piotr Michalowski’s birthday. “So I got an unusual gift,” the museum worker laughed years later.
He listened to the click of heels
Robert Z. had planned the theft for about 9 months. When he appeared – as a student under the false name of Jacek Walewski – at the museum, he only waited a moment for the guard to leave the museum premises. Then he approached Monet and slowly cut the picture. The woman was wearing high heels and could hear his voice from afar. Then he pretended to paint another picture that was hanging in front of Monet.
A picture of a coin in a closet. In Olkusz15/11 | For 9 years, Claude Monet’s painting has been lying in… the wardrobe of a resident of Olkuz. He was arrested for not paying child support. And he introduced himself as an art lover. Will there ever be a second part of, say, “Vinci” about him? Perhaps they are already trying. (TVN24)TVN24
When he cut out the entire printing canvas, he replaced it with a copy, which he commissioned a Ukrainian artist to make in Krakow. He paid PLN 300 for this.
Then he put the painting in a large briefcase where he kept his sketches and left the museum. The theft happened on Sunday before the establishment closed. The theft was discovered only on Tuesday morning. The museum was closed on Monday.
The trial of Robert Z. it only lasted one day. In July 2010, the court sentenced him to 3 years in prison. A year later, he was released on parole.
Court on the theft of the painting of Claude Monet 18/09. TVN 24
In October 2010, after several months of preservation, “Purville Beach” returned to the walls of the museum.
– It had to be ironed, glued and attached thread to thread to these side straps. It was an extremely labor-intensive job. At the same time, we cleaned up the image and made it better. The varnish was removed and painted again. Monet never forced it. This changed the color of the image. Before it was darker, now the colors are brighter. All treatments lasted half a year – Peter Michalowski told in the book “Valuable Stories from Poznań”.
Presentation of the restored work TVN 24
Monet’s work is still hanging in the museum of Poznań and is one of the tourist attractions of the city. The theft of the painting is commemorated by a visible slash with a knife that cuts the artist’s signature.
After the theft in 2000, the museum changed its security to prevent a similar situation from happening again. Today, in addition to the alarm system, surveillance cameras are also installed in each room.
None of the museum staff responsible for guarding the room can wear shoes that make noise when they hit the floor.
Main photo source: TVN 24
