This art thief nabbed 239 works of art worth an estimated $2 billion
nypost.com“The Art Thief: A True Story of Love, Crime, and a Dangerous Obsession” (Knopf).“To him, beauty is the world’s only true currency — the person with the most beauty is, therefore, the richest.
He has sometimes considered himself one of the wealthiest people alive.”Breitwieser was in his 20s when he stole the art, mostly during a grand theft tour of France, Holland, Switzerland, Germany, and Austria from 1994 to 2001.
He mainly stole from museums and was accompanied by his girlfriend and accomplice, Anne-Catherine Kleinklaus.His passion for art was gluttonous; it excited him emotionally and even sexually to touch it. “So many great works of art are sexually arousing that what you’ll also want to do is install a bed nearby for when your partner is there and the timing is right,” Breitwieser told the author.The art thief imagined he suffered from a bizarre illness called Stendhal Syndrome, during which he experienced symptoms of dizziness, and heart palpitations that set his head to start spinning when he saw the art he wanted to possess.But while Breitwieser claimed that “art is my drug,” the author disagrees. “What Breitwieser is really addicted to . . .
is stealing,” writes Finkel. “He’s a glorified shoplifter, he’s a kleptomaniac.”But he was a very savvy and shrewd kleptomaniac.Breitwieser was able to free paintings he had chosen to liberate from museums using a common everyday carry device, a Swiss Army knife.
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