Just Stay at Home

Last week in Paris a thief is believed to have carried out one of the largest and most brazen art heists in history. The thief broke into The Musuem of Modern Art through a window that had a faulty alarm system and was awaiting repair.

He made off with works by Picasso, Matisse, and Modigliani. The stolen masterpieces (including 'Le Pigeon aux petit pois' by Picasso, Henri Matisse’s "Pastoral," Georges Braque’s "Olive Tree Near Estaque," Fernand Léger’s "Still Life With Chandeliers,'' and Amedeo Modigliani’s ''Woman With Fan').

Paris mayor Bertrand Delanoe confirmed that the raid was the most costly in the history of French art and called it ‘an intolerable attack on Paris’s universal cultural heritage’.  According to The Art Loss Register, only 12-15% of stolen art is ever recovered. They also state that Picasso is the most stolen artist in the world with 660 (including the most recent one stolen in Paris) missing works of art by the artist.


Art thieves have struck again in France this weekend by stealing five pictures from the home of an art collector in Marseille only a day after the major heist in Paris, the stolen pictures include a Picasso lithograph.
French police said Saturday the owner was beaten up at his home in southern France on Friday and the art stolen.




~Biggest Art Heists in History~
May 2010: A lone thief stole five paintings possibly worth hundreds of millions of euros, including works by Picasso and Matisse, in a brazen overnight heist at a Paris modern art museum.

February 2008: Armed robbers stole four paintings by Cezanne, Degas, van Gogh and Monet worth $163.2 million from the E.G. Buehrle Collection, a private museum in Zurich, Switzerland. The van Gogh and Monet paintings were recovered.

December 2007: A painting by Pablo Picasso valued at about $50 million, along with one by Brazilian artist Candido Portinari valued at $5 million to $6 million, were stolen from the Sao Paulo Museum of Art in Brazil, by three burglars using a crowbar and a car jack. The paintings were later found.

February 2007: Two Picasso paintings, worth nearly $66 million, and a drawing were stolen from the Paris, France home of the artist's granddaughter in an overnight robbery. Police later recovered the art when the thieves tried to sell it.

February 2006: Around 300 museum-grade artifacts worth an estimated $142 million, including paintings, clocks and silver, were stolen from a 17th-century manor house at Ramsbury in southern England, the largest property theft in British history, according to reports.

February 2006: Four works of art and other objects, including paintings by Matisse, Picasso, Monet and Salvador Dali, were stolen from the Museu Chacara do Ceu, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, by four armed men during a Carnival parade. Local media estimated the paintings' worth at around $50 million.

August 2004: Two paintings by Edvard Munch, The Scream and Madonna, insured for $141 million, were stolen from the Munch Museum in Oslo, Norway by three men in a daylight raid. The paintings were recovered nearly two years later.

August 2003: A $65 million Leonardo da Vinci painting was stolen from Drumlanrig Castle in southern Scotland after two men joined a public tour and overpowered a guide. It was recovered four years later.

May 2003: A 16th-century gold-plated Saliera, or salt cellar, by Florentine master Benvenuto Cellini, valued at $69.3 million, was stolen from Vienna's Art History Museum by a single thief when guards discounted a burglar alarm. The figurine was later recovered.

December 2002: Two thieves broke in through the roof of the Vincent Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam and stole two paintings by Van Gogh valued at $30 million. Dutch police convicted two men in December 2003, but did not recover the paintings.

December 2000: Hooded thieves stole a self-portrait by Rembrandt and two Renoir paintings worth an estimated $36 million from Stockholm's waterfront National Museum, using a motorboat in their escape. All paintings were recovered.

October 1994: Seven Picasso paintings worth an estimated $44 million were stolen from a gallery in Zurich, Switzerland. They were recovered in 2000.

April 1991: Two masked armed men took 20 paintings - worth at least $10 million each at the time - from Amsterdam's Van Gogh Museum. The paintings were found in the getaway car less than an hour later.

March 1990: In the biggest art theft in U.S. history, $300 million in art, including works by Vermeer, Rembrandt and Manet, was stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, Massachusetts, by two men in police uniforms.

December 1988: Thieves stole three paintings by van Gogh, with an estimated value of $72 million to $90 million, from the Kroeller-Mueller Museum in a remote section of the Netherlands. Police later recovered all three paintings.

May 1986: A Vermeer painting, Lady Writing a Letter with her Maid, is among 18 paintings worth $40 million stolen from Russborough House in Blessington, Ireland. Some of the paintings are later recovered.

August 1911: Perhaps the most famous case of art theft occurred when the Leonardo Da Vinci's Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre by employee Vinczo Peruggia, who was caught two years later.

~Art Heist History, The Daily Mail-UK

La Soiree

Born in St Petersburg in 1849, the son of a French Sculptor, Béraud moved to Paris to complete his law studies at the Lycée Bonaparte. Béraud exhibited his paintings at the Salon for the first time in 1872. However, he did not gain much recognition until 1876.

Béraud's work was greeted with great enthusiasm and he was welcomed into Parisian society receiving many commissions for portraits from famous figures such as the Prince d'Orleans and Prince Troubetskoy. He attended many of the evening soirees arranged by the popular hostesses of the time and frequently depicted these scenes in his paintings.

He frequented the same cafés, restaurants and theatres as Dégas, Renoir and Toulouse-Lautrec and was close friends with Manet.

La Modiste Sur La Champs Elysees

He exhibited with the Society of French Watercolorists at the 1889 World's Fair in Paris. He painted many scenes of Parisian daily life during the Belle Époque in a style that stands in between the academic art of the Salon and that of the Impressionists.

He received the Légion d'honneur in 1894.

Béraud's paintings often included truth-based humour and mockery of late 19th century Parisian life.

Towards the end of the 19th century, Béraud dedicated less time to his own painting but worked on numerous exhibition committees, including the Salon de la Société Nationale.

Béraud never married and had no children. He is buried in Montparnasse Cemetery beside his mother.

La Bal Mabile

The work of Jean Béraud is represented in museums in Liège, Lille, Tours and Troyes, France.

Have a wonderful holiday weekend!

XOXO

Judith~

Dior

Anita from Castles Crowns and Cottages!!!!

I am very excited to announce Anita as the winner of my second giveaway! She is one of the sweetest and nicest bloggers out there! It is an honor to send her this little gift.

Lacroix

She has a lovely blog and her images and her fun positive energy is contagious! I love her posts on crowns and all things French. Her love of music and life are uplifting and each visit to her site enriches my soul! Thank you Anita, I am so happy that you won!!!

A big Thank you to all of you who entered, who read my posts, and to all of you who have shown me so much support!
XOXO

Judith~

I miss that scrumptious smell as you walk by, the inviting bread all stacked up calling you to come inside, I even miss waiting in line to buy my bread! It's true! :)

I miss the taste of those delicious, mouthwatering, croissants. I miss breaking bread with good friends over a bottle of wine and fantastic conversation. I miss the whole ritual of it.

I have to first thank everybody for their kind words of support and reassurance as well as every body's valuable advice on dealing with my little Prince! Thank you so much! He seems to be feeling a bit better and is doing well. We've had some rough days here but the storm is over and it's Blue skies ahead. I used some advice from my dear blogger friends and he is so much more comfortable. It seems that when they act their worst is when more love and affection is the answer.

The two images above are from the cafe website

I was just reminiscing of my days in Paris (I miss it so) and remembering my old friends that I had to leave there. The hours we would spend in the cafes talking, debating, eating, laughing, and enjoying life! Oh, what I would give to be there for just one day. My favorite place to pick a cafe....St~Germain~Des~Pres. Les Deux Magots, Cafe de Flore, Brasserie Lipp, and of course the beautiful Le Procope.

Absinthe at the Cafe Procope via Flickr

Le Procope opened in 1686 and is believed to be the world's first coffee house and Paris' oldest restaurant. It is an amazing place to visit and enjoy some great food.

This gem is steeped in history and it is closely linked to the revolution as well. After its opening it quickly became a very fashionable place to be seen. The city's literary and political elite as well as the actors from the famous Comedie~Francaise would meet here.

I feel more intellectual just stepping over the threshold!

Voltaire's table is still here among the books and paintings reminding us of the 40 cups of chocolate and coffee mixture he drank every day. There is portrait of a woman hanging above a table with a bayonet tear through it, the cut crystal chandeliers everywhere, the rich colors, and mirrors throughout. it all transports you to another time and place. Oh, if these walls could talk!