Groninger Museum to celebrate stolen Van Gogh painting a year after the theft
This Tuesday the Groninger Museum will marks a year since Vincent van Gogh’s famous painting The Parsonage Garden at Nuenen was stolen. The famous painting from 1884 was stolen from the Singer Laren museum on March 30, 2020, what would have been the artist's 167th birthday.
The painting was on loan to the Noord-Holland museum when a thief used something resembling a sledgehammer to smash open a glass door at about 3:15 a.m. Security camera footage showed the suspect race through the gift shop and break open another glass door. Soon after, the person fled the building carrying the framed Van Gogh in one arm, and the blunt object in their other hand.
The Groninger Museum has decided to pay tribute the painting by showcasing it on a special website made for this occasion, which will launch on Tuesday. It will be used to share stories and background information about the painting. Facts and information have been provided by the researcher Teio Meedendorp from the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.
“Short, in-depth texts and photos of pen drawings and fragments from Van Gogh's letters provide a glimpse of the painting’s origins. For example, you can read about how the church was portrayed, how Van Gogh ended up in the rectory with his parents, or about his studio,” a museum spokesperson told newswire ANP.
No arrests were made in the case. The whereabouts of the painting remain unknown.
