The robbery of 221 artworks causes a new scandal in the Hermitage

The Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg

The robbery of 221 artworks causes a new scandal in the Hermitage

There is nothing more boring than inventories, right? And quite possibly there is nothing more terrible than an inventory informing you about the “disappearance” of 221 items. Especially when that inventory is made for one of the most important Museums of the world, and when those 221 objects are works of Art from the 17th , 18th and 19th Centuries, valued in more than $5 million. And the story has a certain note of drama if we take into account that these works are not insured, and also when we know that the main suspects of the robbery are the employers and security guards of the prestigious Museum.

So that’s the sad reality for the Hermitage (or Ermitage) Museum of Saint Petersburg, a new scandal to add to a neverending list of robberies and incidents that includes the theft of a valuable Egyptian jar in 1994, the robbery of a never recovered Gérome painting in 2001, the attack with sulphuric acid against Rembrandt’s Danae in 1985, and the fact that such an important Museum has not enough money to take out an insurance policy against robberies, or to put a simple security glass to protect its most valuable works of art. The Hermitage exhibits invaluable works of Art such as Leonardo da Vinci’s “Virgin Benois” or the “Madonna Litta” , or two masterworks by Henri Matisse, “The Music” and “The Dance”