ABOUT THE STOLEN ART

GOVAERT FLINCK - LANDSCAPE WITH AN OBELISK, 1638

Oil on oak panel, 54.5 x 71 cm (21 7/16 x 27 15/16 in.)

For many years, this haunting little landscape was thought to be by Rembrandt. The major oddity in this  painting is the obelisk that gives this painting its title. On this dark and stormy day, it is streaked by sunlight, almost gilded, yet in perspective, it’s much smaller than the huge humanoid gnarled tree in the foreground, its windswept leaves like wild hair. A large section of trunk has fallen to the ground—struck by lightning? A miniature man on horseback is talking to another tiny man standing on the road (or is it a road?). Across the bridge (is there someone on it?), on the other side of a river, there’s a water mill. Against the distant horizon, a kind of butte towers over the fields and woods in front of it. The colors are mostly browns and grays.

Fanciful and realistic, the subject remains a mystery. The obelisk seems to represent something. It must be  a symbol, or else what’s it doing there in the middle of this mostly barren landscape, in the center of this mysterious painting? But we have no choice but to leave its meaning to our imagination.

ABOUT THE COLLECTION

On March 18, 1990 at 1:24AM, two men dressed as police officers walked into the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. 81 minutes later they walked out with $500 million worth of artwork (today’s value). They forced the night guards into the basement, and duct-taped their hands, eyes, and ankles. The guards were not discovered until the new shift came to relieve them around 8 am. When the police examined the gallery, they noticed that the missing paintings had been cut from the frames, instead of carefully removed. None of the pieces have ever been recovered.

13 pieces were stolen from the museum. The value of the pieces makes this the biggest art theft in the history. The museum is offering $10 million in reward money for information leading to the recovery of the stolen items. Now each piece will live forever inscribed on Bitcoin.

This Lot Includes:

Inscription #893036

• 1 of 1

NO RESERVE

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