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What was the biggest art theft in history?
- sib 3y agoSadly, not even close to the biggest... https://www.apollo-magazine.com/red-army-trophy-art-germany/ https://www.apollo-magazine.com/red-army-trophy-art-germany/
- bryanlarsen 3y agoAlso probably in contention is the plunder of the Aztecs by the Spanish.
- laurensr 3y agoWhat about art in museums all over the world that is requested back by the country of origin?
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- beaeglebeached 3y agoThey should sue as anyone else can for goods back, if they have proof they own it .
- parl_match 3y agoThere have been many articles written about this, you should read them. But in some of the more egregious cases, I would ask you this: how do you sue a government for plundered art when the government has passed laws that prevent you from suing the government?
- beaeglebeached 3y agoYou're talking about publicly possessed (stolen or not) art where the public won't vote to allow consideration of patriating the art abroad?
- parl_match 3y agoYou said lawsuit. In many countries, a lawsuit is not feasible.
- beaeglebeached 3y agoI said sue, not lawsuit. In some countries you use a lawsuit. In others, it merely means to seek legal redress such as petitioning a dictator.
- parl_match 3y agoSuing is the same as bringing a lawsuit. You're ineffectually splitting hairs. Still likely not effective. What's your point?
- beaeglebeached 3y agoYou've pointed to 'many' countries and also to laws stopping this. Now you've evaluated likelihood. Since you were able to drive a likelihood calculus, what specific laws were you calculating against?
- flint 3y agoEver seen The Monuments Men? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Monuments_Men https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Monuments_Men
- irrational 3y agoNo. Is it any good?
- ProfessorLayton 3y agoPerhaps what's going on now with AI?
- MeImCounting 3y agoArt theft implies actually stealing something from someone. IE taking something away from someone else. So that they no longer have access to that thing. For instance the occasion discussed in the article is about art being stolen from a museum. So that people can no longer go to that museum and look at that art. I hope you can see the difference between that and the "theft" of "intellectual property" that is so hyped today.
- ProfessorLayton 3y ago>Art theft implies actually stealing something from someone. This implies art is by definition a physical thing, which is not something I or many others would agree with. Art can be many things, some of which are tangible, and some which aren't (A live performance, a digital painting etc.). While the article is talking about physical paintings, I posit that the biggest art theft in history is happening now via AI training. AI which is endangering the very same artists that unwittingly trained it for nothing in return and benefit for others.
- MeImCounting 3y agoThis is missing the thrust of my argument. By stealing a physical painting you are removing the ability for other people to look at that painting. When a digital painting is used in the training of some AI model it is not removed from the internet. Anybody can still go look at that digital painting wherever it is posted. Nothing is being stolen from anyone in this scenario. The argument then is that the AI model is stealing potential profits from the artist who posted the image. This also doesnt make sense because the artist is not charging to see that image. It is posted for anyone who has the link and a web browser to see it.
- __loam 3y ago
- galago 3y agoSupreme court chief justice Oliver Wendell Holmes identified Boston as “The Hub of the Solar System", which is still somehow how people in the area think of themselves in my opinion. I live in the area. So it would be this: https://www.gardnermuseum.org/organization/theft https://www.gardnermuseum.org/organization/theft https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/five-things-know-about-isabella-stewart-gardner-art-heist-180977448/ https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/five-things-know-a...
- saddat 3y agoThe British museum collection
- dghlsakjg 3y agoThe Nazis put up some stiff competition when it comes to the wholesale theft of art.
- booleandilemma 3y agoThe British museum (and other museums) preserve what would have otherwise been destroyed had it remained wherever they took it from. The nations they recovered artifacts from probably don't even exist anymore. The artifacts only survive because the museum discovered them.
- sva_ 3y agoI've heard they even preserve a whole group of islands next to Argentina among other places.
- travem 3y agoThey are certainly preserving the right to self-determination for the people who live there…
- dghlsakjg 3y agoWales, Chile, Greece, China and Egypt aren't countries? That's news to me. Its even more surprising since all of those imaginary countries have museums that hold ancient artifacts that did survive the British museum's "preservation". Even if you accept the argument that the British Museum "saved" these artifacts, what argument is there now to keep them? Greece has gone so far as to build an entire world class museum in anticipation of the return of the artifacts they claim. Sarcastically: If there is real concern about these artifacts wouldn't it make sense to remove them from an insular island monarchy with unstable governance and a declining economy?
- 3y ago
- kccqzy 3y agoNot a single instance of theft but Stéphane Breitwieser is probably the most prolific art thief. I read Michael Finkel's 2023 book on the thefts and it was a riveting read.
- PortlandMEnerd 3y agoHow is this big?
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- thriftwy 3y agoI thought that was the stealing of the Amber Room from Leningrad outskirts by Nazis. Needless to say it was never recovered. Perhaps it has burned in transit or in 1945, perhaps somebody else is enjoying it to that day.
- soapdog 3y agoA.I training models...
- iwontberude 3y agoDisney
- joelcollinsdc 3y ago“In 1990, the estimated value of the stolen collection amounted to $200,000, but thirty years later, it exceeded half a billion” Feels implausible. Maybe a typo.
- NikkiA 3y agoProbably the theft of the Mona Lisa