The Art Thief
by Michael Finkel
Contents
Chapter 23
Overview
Anne-Catherine confronts Stéphane with an ultimatum, then settles on strict limits, but he quickly resumes stealing. They take a Vinckboons and a Brueghel, among other pieces, reigniting their spree. Conflicting portraits of Anne-Catherine’s agency emerge. After Stéphane discovers her secret abortion, he assaults her, and she ends the relationship.
Summary
Anne-Catherine, torn between love and complicity, issues an ultimatum: "It’s art or me." Stéphane refuses to choose, confirming to a Swiss psychotherapist that his collection eclipses all else. Anne-Catherine withdraws the ultimatum and negotiates limits—fewer, safer heists, no Switzerland, and surgical gloves.
On a Paris trip, Stéphane, gloved, steals a copper Vinckboons at a Drouot-Montaigne viewing while Anne-Catherine stands lookout. Experts later debate her role: César Redondo depicts her as coerced; Bernard Darties, after viewing home videos, sees her as elated and complicit.
During a July getaway to the Loire, they exploit a distracted guard and cashier to take an Allegory of Autumn attributed to Jan Brueghel the Elder, wiping traces before leaving. The successful theft rekindles Stéphane’s confidence.
Over the following months, he resumes a steady pace: porcelain statuettes from western France, an oil painting in Germany, another in Belgium, and a trumpet in Germany by January 1998. Despite Anne-Catherine’s attempts to restrain him, Stéphane pushes ahead, relying on her to watch the door.
Stéphane then finds a Dutch clinic bill revealing Anne-Catherine, with Mireille’s help, had a secret abortion. He confronts Anne-Catherine at her hospital, strikes her, and storms off. She packs her things, leaves the attic and the art, and moves back with her parents, ending their partnership.
Who Appears
- Anne-Catherine KleinklausPartner and lookout; issues ultimatum, agrees to limits, aids new heists, then leaves after abortion confrontation.
- Stéphane BreitwieserArt thief; refuses to choose, resumes thefts, steals Vinckboons and Brueghel, discovers abortion, slaps Anne-Catherine.
- Mireille BreitwieserStéphane’s mother; colludes with Anne-Catherine on the secret abortion; owner of the attic stash.
- Michel SchmidtSwiss psychotherapist who concludes Stéphane prioritizes his collection over girlfriend and mother.
- César RedondoFrench therapist who describes Anne-Catherine as a coerced victim in a dominant–submissive relationship.
- Bernard DartiesFrench art police officer; home videos convince him Anne-Catherine is complicit and even gleeful.