The Art Thief: A True Story of Love, Crime, and a Dangerous Obsession

In February 1997, 25-year-old Stéphane Breitwieser and Anne-Catherine Kleinklaus visit the Rubens House in Belgium. Both are stylishly dressed in second-hand designer clothes. As they pass through the museum’s rooms, Breitwieser assesses the security measures. The couple’s target is an ivory sculpture, Adam and Eve. The carving is by the German carver Georg Petel and was once owned by Peter Paul Rubens, the renowned Flemish 17th-century painter. Breitwieser is obsessed with the piece.

Anne-Catherine acts as a lookout by the door. Once they are alone, Breitwieser jumps over the security cordon. He works on opening the display case using a Swiss Army knife and a screwdriver. Each time someone approaches, his girlfriend coughs, and he leaps back over the cordon. Breitwieser once worked as a museum security guard and knows he does not have long before his lingering presence causes suspicion. Although tourists are in the room, they seem distracted. He opens the case and hides the sculpture in the waistband of his pants, leaving the case open. He leaves swiftly but calmly. The couple drives away from the crime scene, elated.