What's Your Impression?

Claude Monet (French, 1840-1926). Poppies near Vétheuil, ca. 1880.
(One of the stolen paintings.)

Did you hear about this art theft? I read the article in the LA Times today. What a shame for everyone. I can't say why, but I don't have much hope these paintings are going to be recovered. It makes me sad. I love impressionist art.

I suppose my love comes from the influence of one of my eighth grade teachers. Every morning Miss Halford would put up a poster of a different piece of art and had us journal about it. We could say anything. Talk about the artist, the brush strokes, the subject of the art. I've never forgotten it. I learned about Van Gogh, Cezanne, Goya, Picasso, Michelangelo, Da Vinci among others all for the first time from that teacher.

So when I was in Paris and got to go to the Musee d'Orsay and see the REAL paintings of posters I viewed as an adolescent, well, it was very emotional. Since you already know I'm a weepy kind of a gal you know I teared up. It makes me crazy that wonderful art that is there for everyone to enjoy is stolen. For money. I'm not naive. I know money rocks the world for many people. It's just so disappointing.

While I'm a bit sketchy on some of the details, I do wonder how, in this day and age, three masked guys just walk into a museum with guns on a Sunday afternoon and steal 163 million in paintings?

One does have to wonder...doesn't one? Of course I'm already creating the movie in my head and thinking up all sorts of nefarious plots and "what ifs".