ART THEFT

Meijer de Haan-self portrait 1889/90.

The BBC has a news item suggesting that ashes from a stove are being examined to see if traces of stolen paintings can be found therein. This relates to the theft of items on temporary show at the Rotterdam Kunsthal in 2012.It is thought that one of the thieves or an accomplice may have destroyed the paintings. This raises some questions.

How can you tell? Even with modern forensic methods it sounds difficult.Can you analyse ash and conclude that it comes from a 100-120 year old work by Monet, Gauguin or de Haan or a more modern painting by Freud? And if the ashes are all mixed together? I wish them luck. Find some fragments of canvas or stretcher and it will be easier. Shouldn't we also be a bit sceptical? Thieves don't usually destroy assets.it may be just a blind.

There are also questions about the value of art.In this case I personally would be most sorry to lose the de Haan-though in an auction room the somewhat poor Monet or the not particularly special Picasso might do much better.

So why de Haan? His oeuvre is small and he died in his 4Os.This stolen portrait is one of his strongest, most avant-garde works. It is a fine painting in it's own right. And it has an important place in the Pont-Aven school. It has a distinguished provenance and was one of the half dozen or so colour plates in the catalogue for Pickvance's unrepeatable show on Pont-Aven in 1966. So take it away and we have lost  a key work . It would be hard to make that case for the Monet, Picasso or Gauguin which of course you wouldn't want to lose either.Here is the link to the BBC story.