An unusual painting by a major old master was stolen from an American museum some years ago and never recovered. Who was the artist, what is the painting, and what is unique about it?

mamacrispy

"The Concert" by Jan Vermeer was stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston in 1990. Vermeer was known for perfecting his compositions with the perfection of geometric figures. The geometric pattern was drawn first -- the painting was composed so that features of the painting would coincide with and be guided by that pattern. Apr 13 05, 6:39 PM

lanfranco

Well, Vermeer's "Concert" was definitely one of the important art works stolen from the Gardener that bizarre night, so you get a major yay and congratulations. However, the key word here is "unique." Apr 13 05, 7:13 PM

peasypod

Does this help? http://www.vermeersriddlerevealed.com/the_concert.shtml Apr 13 05, 7:20 PM

lanfranco

Gorgeous, peasy, and I recommend it. Thank you, and another yay. But no, it's not the painting I had in mind. Apr 13 05, 7:23 PM

peasypod

Wasn't Rembrandt's 'The Storm on the Sea of Galilee' stolen from there that night also? Only thing I can think that would make that particular Rembrandt unique would be that it is the only known seascape painted by him. Apr 13 05, 10:15 PM

lanfranco

And that's the right answer! Yay! In a seafaring nation filled with marine painters, Rembrandt produced this single seascape early in his career. For that reason, it is unusually valuable, whereas the rest of Rembrandt's many paintings are regarded as less valuable than the rare Vermeers. The theft at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston took place in the early morning of March 18, 1990. None of the works stolen -- and they include a Degas and a Manet -- has ever been found. Here's an interesting recent story on the subject: http://www.boston.com/news/specials/gardner_heist/heist Apr 14 05, 8:04 AM