July 9, 2002
By Philippa Garson
A FAMOUS 17th Century artwork worth millions of rands has been stolen from the Johannesburg Art Gallery. The Apostle Thomas, an oil on canvas from the studio of El Greco, was yanked out of its frame sometime shortly before July 3 when it was discovered missing.
The right hand bottom corner of the frame was damaged, indicating that an object was used to lever the painting out of it, said David Brodie, one of the museum's curators.
The painting, which has been on display in the lecture theatre of the gallery for many years, was bought from Dutch art dealer Peter de Boer in Amsterdam in 1955. "It will be almost impossible for this painting to be sold as it is well known and extensively documented in major catalogues," said Brodie, who described the painting as "historically very significant. Anyone with art training will recognise it immediately. There is a good chance that someone will try to smuggle it out of the country".
El Greco, born in Crete in 1541, lived and worked in Italy and then Spain and was inspired by greats like Michelangelo, Titan and Raphael. His work has a strongly spiritual theme. The Apostle Thomas is part of a series of Christ and the Apostles painted in El Greco's studio during his last years. El Greco died in 1614.
The Endangered Species and Protection Unit of the South African Police Service is working on the case. Inspector Charmaine Swart from the unit said: "It was obviously someone who knew what they were looking for. They must have just rolled it up and walked out." The painting, measuring only 62,2 x 49,8 cm, could have been concealed fairly easily.
Clearly, security was not as tight as it should have been. According to Swart the door to the lecture theatre had not been locked. There were no immediate leads, she added, as no finger prints were left on the frame. However, video tapes are currently being analysed in the search for clues. Interpol, auctioneers, dealers and agencies which register loss of works of art from museum collections locally and internationally have also been informed.
The gallery, which has beefed up security in the wake of the robbery, suffered another severe loss in 1996 when one of the figures on a bronze two-figure sculpture by David Brown, on display outside the gallery, was stolen. The sculpture was found by artist Willie Bester in a scrapyard in Cape Town. It was restored and returned to its partner. The bronze duo now lives in the gallery's courtyard, along with other sculptures which were brought inside. But it is clear from the recent theft that even works housed inside the gallery are not safe from robbers.
Anyone who knows anything about the painting's disappearance or who visited the gallery on June 29 and 30, should contact:
Inspector Charmaine Swart, ESPU: 083 5567618
Rochelle Keene, Johannesburg Art Gallery: (011) 7253130
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