The Most Renowned Recovered Paintings Ever

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Want to know which are the most renowned recovered paintings ever? Although art heists may seem a thing of fiction, portrayed in films like The Thomas Crown Affair or the most recent The Best Offer, they are actually more ordinary events than we think. Whether stolen from museums, galleries or private collections, works of art are constantly missing and being looked for by their rightful owners. Naturally, the more famous the artist the more valuable a painting is, and more likely to be stolen. So, if you want to know which works of art could be target for future thefts, maybe checking out the 6 Richest Painters In The World 2014 is a good way to start guessing. Are you curious about the most renowned recovered paintings ever? Let’s take a look at the countdown and find out! The Most Renowned Recovered Paintings Ever

7. Saint Jerome Writing

Painted by the Italian master Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio sometime between 1607 and 1608, this painting was stolen in 1984 from St. John’s Co-Cathedral in Valetta, Malta. When it was finally recovered in 1988, Saint Jerome Writing was clearly damaged: a result from the burglars cutting it out from its frame. A couple years after the recovery, in 1990, the painting was sent to restoration and at the moment it is displayed at the cathedral once again.

6. Count Lepic and His Daughters

Stolen in 2008 from the Foundation E.G. Bührle in Zurich, this painting is an 1870 work from the renowned French artist, Edgar Degas. On that February 10th of 2008 three more paintings were stolen together with Count Lepic and His Daughters, including a painting by Cézanne, a Monet piece, and a Van Gogh painting. The art heist amounted to $162.5 million in total but all four paintings were finally recovered, and the Degas piece appeared in 2012 in Serbia with slight damages.

5. Adoration of the Mystic Lamb

Also known as the Ghent Altarpiece and The Lamb of God, this work of art is a Flemish polyptych panel painting by Hubert and Jan van Eyck. The whole altarpiece consists of twelve panels, and at the moment only one of them is still missing. Nevertheless, you can still enjoy the masterpiece at its original location in St. Bavo’s Cathedral in Ghent, Belgium (the missing panel, ‘The Just Judges’ is represented by a copy made by an art restorer). The 1432 work of art suffered a heist twice, the latest one during the German occupation of Belgium in World War II.

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