Paris begs for the return of stolen art
Source: Agencies |
May 22, 2010, Saturday
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PARIS City Hall, embarrassed by a major art heist at a museum with a broken alarm, urged security guards yesterday to be more vigilant -- and pleaded with the perpetrators not to damage the Picasso, Matisse and Modigliani spirited away from the city's Museum of Modern Art.
Despite mounting criticism of museum security following Thursday's US$123 million theft and other recent heists, the deputy mayor for culture said there were no plans to add security personnel or make sharp changes to how Paris protects its cultural treasures.
"My only worry today, to be completely honest, is the safety of these paintings," Christophe Girard said. "These people who have taken them, I beg them not to do anything to these paintings .... These are masterpieces that belong to millions of people."
"Don't touch them. Give them back," he pleaded.
The Museum of Modern Art had reported a partial malfunction of its alarm system on March 30 that remains to be fixed. With no alarm to worry about, a black-clad intruder entered the museum overnight Thursday by breaking a window, took five canvases out of their frames and fled, according to police and prosecutors.
Girard praised the thief or thieves as having "good taste" in their choice of works: Pablo Picasso's "The Pigeon with the Peas;" "Pastoral" by Henri Matisse; "Woman with a Fan" by Amedeo Modigliani; "Olive Tree near Estaque" by Georges Braque; and "Still Life with Chandeliers" by Fernand Leger.
Girard said the audio level of the alarm was partially damaged, so that guards might not have heard if an alarm signaled an intruder.
But he insisted video cameras were working, and that he and police had seen the intruder on video.
Asked whether Paris museums would heighten security measures, he said, "We will continue to survey our museums, mobilize our personnel."
Stephane Thefo, a specialist at Interpol who handles international art theft investigations, said there is no surefire way to protect paintings, and that securing treasures in historical buildings, for example, is a challenge.
"Zero risk doesn't exist," he said from Interpol headquarters in Lyon, France. "The aim of the game is to limit the risks."
He said the key to finding missing art is having high quality photos and descriptions of the works.
Despite mounting criticism of museum security following Thursday's US$123 million theft and other recent heists, the deputy mayor for culture said there were no plans to add security personnel or make sharp changes to how Paris protects its cultural treasures.
"My only worry today, to be completely honest, is the safety of these paintings," Christophe Girard said. "These people who have taken them, I beg them not to do anything to these paintings .... These are masterpieces that belong to millions of people."
"Don't touch them. Give them back," he pleaded.
The Museum of Modern Art had reported a partial malfunction of its alarm system on March 30 that remains to be fixed. With no alarm to worry about, a black-clad intruder entered the museum overnight Thursday by breaking a window, took five canvases out of their frames and fled, according to police and prosecutors.
Girard praised the thief or thieves as having "good taste" in their choice of works: Pablo Picasso's "The Pigeon with the Peas;" "Pastoral" by Henri Matisse; "Woman with a Fan" by Amedeo Modigliani; "Olive Tree near Estaque" by Georges Braque; and "Still Life with Chandeliers" by Fernand Leger.
Girard said the audio level of the alarm was partially damaged, so that guards might not have heard if an alarm signaled an intruder.
But he insisted video cameras were working, and that he and police had seen the intruder on video.
Asked whether Paris museums would heighten security measures, he said, "We will continue to survey our museums, mobilize our personnel."
Stephane Thefo, a specialist at Interpol who handles international art theft investigations, said there is no surefire way to protect paintings, and that securing treasures in historical buildings, for example, is a challenge.
"Zero risk doesn't exist," he said from Interpol headquarters in Lyon, France. "The aim of the game is to limit the risks."
He said the key to finding missing art is having high quality photos and descriptions of the works.
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