The Art Thief

A True Story of Love, Crime, and a Dangerous Obsession

By: Michael Finkel

Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini, Michael Finkel

One of the most remarkable true-crime narratives of the twenty-first century: the story of the world’s most prolific art thief, Stéphane Breitwieser.

In this spellbinding portrait of obsession and flawed genius, the best-selling author of The Stranger in the Woods brings us into Breitwieser’s strange world—unlike most thieves, he never stole for money, keeping all his treasures in a single room where he could admire them.

For centuries, works of art have been stolen in countless ways from all over the world, but no one has been quite as successful at it as the master thief Stéphane Breitwieser. Carrying out more than two hundred heists over nearly eight years—in museums and cathedrals all over Europe—Breitwieser, along with his girlfriend who worked as his lookout, stole more than three hundred objects, until it all fell apart in spectacular fashion.

In The Art Thief, Michael Finkel brings us into Breitwieser’s strange and fascinating world. Unlike most thieves, Breitwieser never stole for money. Instead, he displayed all his treasures in a pair of secret rooms where he could admire them to his heart’s content. Possessed of a remarkable athleticism and an innate ability to circumvent practically any security system, Breitwieser managed to pull off a breathtaking number of audacious thefts. Yet these strange talents bred a growing disregard for risk and an addict’s need to score, leading Breitwieser to ignore his girlfriend’s pleas to stop—until one final act of hubris brought everything crashing down.

This is a riveting story of art, crime, love, and an insatiable hunger to possess beauty at any cost.

Cover images: (top) Bat by Albrecht Dürer. Bridgeman Images; (bottom) The Sleeping Shepherd (detail) by François Boucher © RMN-Grand Palais / Art Resource, NY

OK but not as interesting as I thought

This was a bit disappointing because I loved the other books from Finkel. This one is written well but does not have personal one on one interview style journalistic content, so is basically a retelling of the general story of the art thief. In practice once we get the gist of what the art thief was doing and the motivations it becomes repetitive.

Compelling Story That Reads Like A Novel

This was a truly compelling story and the author did a great job of pulling the listener along as if listening to a novel. The fact that it is a true story makes it even more compelling. Edoardo Ballerini’s narration performance was spot on and drew the listener in through every twist and turn. A great listen and highly recommend this title!

What a great read!

An interesting and entertaining true story. The narrator was excellent making it an enjoyable listen.

Interesting

Great detail and storytelling using real events and people. 15 word minimum for review, like we are in school.

Incredible story! And mind blowing that it was true!

Can’t really give this any bad marks! Gripping story, very well written and narrated!
I was looking for a book that I couldn’t put down, and this was one!