A famous Vincent Van Gogh painting has been stolen from a museum which was closed due to the coronavirus outbreak.
The artwork, titled Parsonage Garden at Neunen in Spring, was taken by thieves from the Singer Laren museum near Amsterdam, the Netherlands early on Sunday morning (local time). The painting was stolen on Van Gogh’s birthday, which was celebrated on March 30, 1853.
The thieves smashed through a glass door at the museum and made off with the painting before police could arrive.
The Singer Laren Museum a director, Jan Rudolph de Lorm, told reporters he was “incredibly pissed off” over the theft.
“This beautiful and moving painting by one of our greatest artists stolen — removed from the community,” he said.
“Art is there to be seen, to be enjoyed, to inspire and to bring solace, particularly in these troubled times in which we find ourselves.”
The value of the work, which was on loan from the Groninger Museum in the northern Dutch city of Groningen, was not immediately known, yet Van Gogh paintings are often auctioned off for over $10 million.
