We all have grown up watching the captivating Hollywood thrillers about art thieves slipping past alarms and guards to snatch treasures that have survived centuries until we landed with a wild, real-life jewellery heist at the Louvre in Paris, where robbers made off with priceless Napoleonic jewels in under seven minutes. However, this is not the first and the incident joins a long and riveting history of museum thefts that continue to fascinate and horrify.For centuries, art has symbolised beauty, legacy and human genius and yet, behind the quiet hum of museum halls lies another story: one of obsession, danger and daring. Art heists fascinate because they are a mirror of human desire and the yearning to possess beauty, to outsmart the system, to become part of history. The allure is not just in what is stolen but in how it is stolen: quiet, deliberate and daringly human.
Over the decades, bold criminals have scaled walls, dropped through skylights and disguised themselves as police officers, curators, even janitors to unthinkingly carry away masterpieces and gems. The recent jewellery heist at Paris’s Louvre Museum is just the latest reminder that where there is treasure, there will always be temptation.On Sunday, October 19, 2025, thieves slipped into the Louvre’s Apollo Gallery, a space dedicated to royal jewels and divine opulence, and vanished with eight priceless pieces, including a crown once worn by Empress Eugénie that was studded with nearly 3,000 diamonds and 212 pearls. Paris woke up to headlines of disbelief but for those who follow the strange and seductive world of art theft, this was déjà vu.From New York to Vienna, Boston to Oslo, museum thefts have always blurred the line between crime and craft. Some thieves scale walls with mountaineer precision while others simply walk in dressed as police officers or curators. What unites them is a strange mix of recklessness and reverence where stealing is not for necessity but for legacy.
1911: The Mona Lisa that made herself famous
In 1911, a Louvre employee named Vincenzo Peruggia tucked the Mona Lisa under his coat and walked out unnoticed. The theft turned Da Vinci’s painting from masterpiece to myth. When she was finally recovered two years later, the Mona Lisa was no longer just a portrait, she was the world’s most famous face.
1964: The surfboard thief who loved gems
In 1964, “Murph the Surf”, a suntanned beach boy turned jewel thief, scaled the walls of New York’s Museum of Natural History and walked off with sapphires, rubies and diamonds, including the legendary Star of India. Though the heist was cinematic, the aftermath was tragic as Murph’s life spiralled into prison and infamy.
1990: The Boston disappearance that still haunts
At the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in 1990, two men dressed as police officers made off with 13 artworks including a Vermeer and three Rembrandts that were worth over half a billion dollars. The empty frames still hang on the walls as a quiet symbol of loss and mystery that continues to inspire books, podcasts and documentaries.
1994: The “Scream” heard around the world
In 1994, thieves in Oslo stole Edvard Munch’s The Scream by climbing a ladder and leaving a sarcastic note, “Thanks for your poor security.” The painting was recovered in a sting operation months later. It is proof that even genius thieves sometimes underestimate the persistence of art lovers.
2000: The millennium smoke screen
When fireworks erupted across the world on New Year’s Eve 2000, so did the skylight of Oxford’s Ashmolean Museum. Thieves used smoke bombs to mask their escape with Cézanne’s View of Auvers-sur-Oise, a painting that remains missing to this day.
2003: The Renaissance heist with a text trail
In 2003, Robert Mang, an alarm technician, stole Cellini’s Saliera, a $60 million gold salt cellar, from Vienna’s Kunsthistorisches Museum. However, his downfall was a text message. Even the most meticulous thief can’t escape modern technology.
2010: The “Spider-Man” of Paris
Vjeran Tomic, nicknamed “Spider-Man” for his acrobatic burglaries, slipped through a window at Paris’s Musée d’Art Moderne in 2010 and took five masterpieces by Picasso, Matisse, Modigliani, Braque and Léger. He confessed later that he simply took the others because he “liked” them. None have ever resurfaced.
2019: The Dresden diamond drama
In 2019, thieves disabled power near Germany’s Green Vault and escaped with jewels worth over $100 million. Most were later recovered, damaged but not destroyed. It is a reminder that even in modern times, old-world glamour still tempts bold hearts.As the Louvre cleans up after its latest loss, one thing is certain that these are not just robberies; they are cultural moments that turn art into legend. In a world obsessed with instant gratification, these heists remind us of something rare that beauty, even when stolen, never truly disappears; it just changes hands, waiting to be rediscovered.
