![Adam and Eve by Georg Petel, 1627, ivory. Stolen by Stéphane Breitwieser from the Rubens House in Antwerp, Belgium](https://theconversationpod.com/wp-content/uploads/cache/2023/10/Adam-and-Eve-by-Georg-Petel-1627-ivory_-Stolen-by-Stephane-Breitwieser-from-the-Rubens-House-in-Antwerp-Belgium/3849972855.jpg)
![Chalice, c. 1590, silver and nautilus shell. Stolen by Stéphane Breitwieser from the Art & History Museum in Brussels, Belgium. © Royal Museums of Art and History, Brussels](https://theconversationpod.com/wp-content/uploads/cache/2023/10/Chalice-c_-1590-silver-and-nautilus-shell_-Stolen-by-Stephane-Breitwieser-from-the-Art-History-Museum-in-Brussels-Belgium_-©-Royal-Museums-of-Art-and-History-Brussels/2469258717.jpg)
![Treasure house. The home in the suburbs of Mulhouse, France, where Stéphane Breitwieser kept his hoard in the attic rooms. The two top windows look into the attic.](https://theconversationpod.com/wp-content/uploads/cache/2023/10/Treasure-house_-The-home-in-the-suburbs-of-Mulhouse-France-where-Stephane-Breitwieser-kept-his-hoard-in-the-attic-rooms_-The-two-top-windows-look-into-the-attic_/2401546373.jpg)
![Landscape tapestry, c. 1680, wool and silk, 10 feet x 10 feet. Stolen by Stéphane Breitwieser from the Château de Gruyères in Gruyères, Switzerland](https://theconversationpod.com/wp-content/uploads/cache/2023/10/Landscape-tapestry-c_-1680-wool-and-silk-10-feet-x-10-feet_-Stolen-by-Stephane-Breitwieser-from-the-Chateau-de-Gruyeres-in-Gruyeres-Switzerland/120140289.jpg)
![Landscape with a Cannon by Albrecht Dürer, 1518, paper engraving. Stolen by Stéphane Breitwieser from the Fine Arts Museum in Thun, Switzerland](https://theconversationpod.com/wp-content/uploads/cache/2023/10/Landscape-with-a-Cannon-by-Albrecht-Durer-1518-paper-engraving_-Stolen-by-Stephane-Breitwieser-from-the-Fine-Arts-Museum-in-Thun-Switzerland/1474390109.jpg)
Michael Finkel discusses the remarkable story of Stéphane Breitwieser, the subject of his recent book, The Art Thief, including:
The genesis of the book project, starting with a three-paragraph article, and eventually turning into a 10+ year-project; the style and methods of theft that Breitwieser and his partner, Anne-Catherine Kleinklaus, put to work; Michael’s favorite Breitwieser crimes; his widely oscillating perception of Breitwieser, from a selfish brat to ‘the best art professor I’ve ever had;’ how Breitwieser protected both Anne-Catherine and his mother by lying on their behalf, but ultimately told the truth to authorities when it came to his own role in the crime sprees; Breitwieser’s Icarus-like trajectory playing out over several years as a result of his increasing addiction to art theft; a teaser of an ongoing plot point related to one of the Art Thief’s main characters, one which may very well be revealed in the soft cover release of the book; and how what Breitwieser and Christopher Knight, the protagonist of Finkel’s earlier book, The Stranger in the Woods, have in common is that they’re extreme outliers who make their own rules.
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