The truth behind the infamous art thief

The story reminds us how complex and unique humans are.

KIM SEONG-JOONGThe author is a novelist. There are many different types of thieves in the world. The purpose of stealing is to cash in on stolen goods, but some thieves have a different purpose. For example, what about a book thief? Once, an old man steadily stole 500 books from a bookstore.

The problem is that ethical judgment becomes complicated when a book thief’s motivation of stealing was his desire to read. The old man barely makes his living on senior pension and mostly stole humanities books and kept them dearly. His case was on the news.

This is the case of Stéphane Breitwieser in Michael Finkel’s “The Art Thief.” He left an unmatched record of stealing more than 300 artworks from museums across Europe over seven years. He had stolen 2 trillion won ($1.43 billion) worth of artworks but was not caught because he did not sell them on the black market. Instead, he kept them in his attic and enjoyed his treasure house. He also had an accomplice, Anne-Catherine. Bonnie and Clyde robbed banks, but this couple robbed art galleries and museums. Breitwieser fell in love with artworks, and Anne fell for a thief.

Perhaps Breitwieser self-rationalized that saving the artworks trapped in museums and having them loved by an aficionado was not wrong. But his actions focused more on “stealing” than “art.” When his crimes were revealed, he was tried and imprisoned. But even after he was released, he could not give up the habit of stealing artworks.

The story reminds us how complex and unique humans are. How should we interpret Breitwieser’s object of desire changing from the beauty of art itself to the act of stealing and owning? Humans are animals of behavior, and behavior determines the essence of an individual. The solemn truth is that repeated actions makes up a person’s essence.