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ArtCurious Podcast

Author Interview: Michael Finkel on "The Art Thief"

ArtCurious Podcast

ArtCurious

Arts, History, Visual Arts

4.8847 Ratings

🗓️ 26 June 2023

⏱️ 34 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Hello, listeners! I’ve got a special surprise for you this week. I absolutely loved this new book by author and journalist Michael Finkel, and I didn't want to wait any longer to share it with you. Finkel's latest book, The Art Thief: A True Story of Love, Crime, and a Dangerous Obsession, is about the world's most prolific art thief-- and believe me, his story is stranger than fiction. If you’re anything like me, you love art-- and you also love a good and unbelievable true story about bad things happening to art, too. So you may have encountered the remarkable story of Stéphane Breitwieser, the world’s most prolific art thief, in Finkel’s 2019 article “The Secrets of the World’s Greatest Art Thief” (GQ). Breitwieser, along with his girlfriend who worked as his lookout, carried out more than two hundred heists over nearly eight years, stealing more than three hundred objects, until it all fell apart in spectacular fashion.  The book is out on June 27-- listen now for our in-depth conversation and preorder your copy now! Please SUBSCRIBE and REVIEW our show on Apple Podcasts and FOLLOW on Spotify Instagram / Facebook / YouTube Buy The Art Thief here! SPONSORS: Lume Deodorant: Control Body Odor ANYWHERE with @lumedeodorant and get over 40% off your starter pack with promo code ARTCURIOUS at lumedeodorant.com/ARTCURIOUS! #lumepod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

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0:29.8

Hello, art curious folks. I am so excited to share this all new interview with you today.

0:35.6

I recently spoke to author and journalist Michael

0:38.8

Finkel about his new book, The Art Thief, a true story of love, crime, and a dangerous obsession.

0:46.1

So I know that if you're anything like me, you love art, and you also love a good and unbelievably

0:52.8

awesome true story about bad things happening to art.

0:56.7

So you may have encountered the remarkable story of Stefan Breitvisser, the world's most prolific art thief in Finkel's 2019 article,

1:05.1

The Secrets of the World's Greatest Art Thief in GQ magazine.

1:09.1

Bright Viser, along with his girlfriend who worked as his lookout, carried out more than

1:13.6

200 heists over nearly eight years, stealing more than 300 objects, until it all fell apart

1:21.6

in spectacular fashion.

1:23.6

In the art thief, Finkle elaborates on Bright Visser's story and ultimate arrest,

1:28.8

how he was able to steal everything from 16th century paintings to a 17th century sword

1:34.0

to statues and carvings and musical instruments, adding up to more than $1.4 billion worth of art.

1:42.5

The art thief is a spellbinding portrait of obsession and flawed

1:46.0

genius. Michael Finkel brings us into Bright Visser's strange world because unlike most thieves,

1:52.3

he never stole for money. He kept all of his treasures in a pair of secret rooms where he could

1:57.7

admire them to his heart's content. This is a riveting story of

...

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