From the Mona Lisa to The Scream, many priceless artworks have been targeted by thieves – and the stories of these real-life heists are the stuff of
Hollywood movies
Its subject is simple, yet haunting: a small bird chained by the foot to its perch. The Goldfinch, painted in the 17th century by Carel Fabritius, is among the world’s most famous works of art, thanks in part to its central place in the Pulitzer prize-winning novel of the same name, where, when stolen, it triggers a sequence of events that will affect all the characters.
The real Goldfinch – the popularity of which will only be further enhanced by the release of the much-anticipated film – has never been stolen. But audacious art heists are far from fictional, despite some of the most notorious instances appearing to have been dreamed up by Hollywood’s most inventive scriptwriters.