Perhaps you have seen many exciting art thefts in movies, but do you know that it has happened in real life? In January 2012, an art theft occurred at the National Archaeological Museum in Athens and two of the stolen works were Pablo Picasso’s 1934 “Woman’s Head” and Piet Mondrian’s 1905 “Mill”.
About 10 years have passed since the artworks were stolen. A 49-year old construction worker and art lover named George Sarmantzopoulos confessed that he was the one who stole the two paintings, saying that he often visits the museum and is familiar with the placement of the works and spaces. He also believes that he should own a piece of artwork and after a long struggle, he finally took action. However, he greatly regrets his actions.
Sarmantzopoulos said that in the 6 months before the theft, he would often sit in the galley for a few hours. In addition to admiring the art, he also paid attention to the windows, monitors, guards’ shift times, configuration of the space, and so on. He also used to hide in the bushes and secretly observe the night guards during closing hours of the museum. All his observations would be recorded.
In 2012, he took photos of a few paintings and then decided to steal the works randomly. When he was arrested by the police, Sarmantzopoulos said that he had prepared all-black clothes, hammers, iron chisels, and knives, which were all basic tools for his work. Because he was familiar with the guards’ work schedules and there was only one guard on the day of the theft, he was able to go through with the operation. He also found that there were no safety facilities on one of the balconies, only an alarm system, so he hid after triggering the alarm several times, making the guard think that the alarm system was broken. After several occurrences, the guard really thought the alarm was broken and let his guard down.
Sarmantzopoulos laid low for a while to further observe and didn’t break in from the balcony until four in the morning. After entering, he tried to trigger the alarm again, and after confirming that it was safe, he started the steal. He went to Picasso’s painting and carefully removed it. However, because it was heavy, he had to first put the painting on the edge of the stairs, then remove Mondrian’s painting. He continued to take other paintings as well. When he was halfway through, the guard noticed his movements and started shouting at him to stop. Sarmantzopoulos was so nervous that he immediately took the paintings away and would not leave. The whole process took less than ten minutes.
It is said that Sarmantzopoulos injured his hand while escaping, and used the stolen third painting (a work by Italian Painter Guglielmo Cacha) to stop the bleeding. After cleaning the wound, he threw the damaged painting into the toilet and it is now unclear where the painting is currently located. When he returned home, he pretended not to know anything, and asked his family why there were so many guards and police cars outside. Later, he hid the paintings in some furniture and didn’t intend to sell the stolen paintings, believing that he was just obsessed with art. He also called himself “ArtFreak” on Twitter to support the art theft.
In May of this year, local media broke the news that the police had uncovered the clues and were going to take action. Sarmantzopoulos was incredibly upset when he saw the news, so he wrapped the paintings up and took them to Athens to discard them, hiding them in grass. When the police found him in the end, he confessed and took them to the site where he discarded the paintings. At the same time, he said that he regretted going through with it; the incident has tortured him for many years and it is the single most regrettable thing he has done in his life. He hopes others can forgive him.
After nearly ten years, the Greek government finally retrieved the stolen artwork and considers their actions to be successful. After the incident, the museum has strengthened the anti-theft system to avoid the incident happening again in the future. At the same time, the Greek Minister of Culture also mentioned that the back of Picasso’ paintings stated that the work was given in order to thank Greece for fighting against fascism and that they would not be exhibited or sold elsewhere.
Figure 1: Woman’s Head 1939 © Pablo Picasso
Figure 2 upper left: ©Greek Culture Ministry
Figure 2 bottom left: Pablo Picasso's Woman's Head 1939 and Piet Mondrian's Mill 1905 ©Hellenic Police
Figure 2 upper right: Mill 1905 © Piet Mondrian
Figure 2 bottom right: © National Archaeological Museum of Athens
