The Louvre is known for housing some of the most famous pieces of art, including the “Mona Lisa” by Leonardo da Vinci, the famous “Venus de Milo” marble sculpture, and much more.
According to NBC News, the museum was shut down on Sunday after a group of four thieves broke into the Louvre at around 9:30 a.m. local time, just as the museum was opening. Reportedly, two people, with their faces concealed, used power tools to break in through a window in the Galerie d’Apollon, aka the Apollo Gallery. They even had a crane lifted on a truck so they could get to the window, with authorities noting it seemed like they had scouted the location in advance.
French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said the “experienced” thieves broke into the gallery using a disc cutter, which triggered the museum’s alarm system. The thieves targeted two display cases featuring priceless jewels. They also reportedly threatened museum guards as they fled. CNN reported that the thieves were unarmed. They apparently also tried to set fire to the truck used to carry out the heist, but were stopped by a Louvre security officer.
The robbery took only seven minutes, with the suspects then fleeing on scooters, according to Nuñez. He told France Inter radio, “Clearly, a team had been scouting the location. It was obviously a very experienced team that acted very, very quickly. I am confident that we will very quickly find the perpetrators and, above all, recover the stolen goods.”
The tiara of Empress Eugénie, the wife of Napoleon III, who was the last monarch of France. The tiara features 212 pearls, 1,998 diamonds, and 992 rose-cut diamonds.
A diamond bow brooch set, which was crafted in 1855. The brooch also belonged to Empress Eugénie, featuring 2,438 diamonds and 196 rose-cut diamonds. Alongside the bow brooch, the thieves also stole a reliquary diamond brooch.
A sapphire tiara, necklace, and earrings, which were apparently worn by several members of French royalty, including Queen Hortense and Queen Marie-Amélie. The tiara features 24 Ceylon sapphires and 1,083 diamonds.
Napoleon’s emerald wedding gift set was also stolen in the heist. The set was one of two that Napoleon I had made to celebrate his marriage to Empress Marie Louise. The emerald set reportedly features a necklace with 32 emeralds and 1,138 diamonds, as well as a matching pair of emerald and diamond earrings. All three items were stolen.
On their way out of the Louvre, the thieves also dropped one notable item: the Crown of Empress Eugénie, which was found broken nearby. The crown, which contains more than 1,300 diamonds, is one of the Louvre’s most valuable pieces. It was designed in 1855 by Alexandre-Gabriel Lemonnier, two years after Eugénie’s marriage to Napoleon III.
French President Emmanuel Macron called the heist “an attack on a heritage that we cherish because it is our history,” according to NBC News. He added they intend to “recover the works and perpetrators will be brought to justice.” Meanwhile, art recovery expert Arthur Brand told CNN this was a “national disaster” for France.
As of right now, more than 60 investigators are working on the case, according to Nuñez, with the prosecutor’s office reportedly now having footage of the four thieves arriving outside the Louvre before the heist. In an interview with NBC News, Erin Thompson, a full-time professor of art crime at John Jay College, stated that it may already be too late to recover the stolen items. She said, “They stole items that can be easily taken apart, melted down, recut, and sold on the legitimate market with it being very difficult to trace them.”
The Louvre has been the subject of several high-profile robberies over the years. Famously, in 1911, Vincenzo Peruggia, an Italian man, walked into the Louvre wearing a uniform and took the “Mona Lisa” right off the wall. He even took it out of the frame to slip it out of the building. According to NPR, the disappearance of the “Mona Lisa” wasn’t noticed for 28 hours. It was eventually recovered when Peruggia discussed the painting with an art dealer in Florence. It was returned to the Louvre in 1914.
This is also not the first time the Apollo Gallery has been targeted. In 1976, masked thieves entered the same room through the same window and stole a 19th-century jewel-encrusted sword belonging to King Charles X. The sword was never recovered.
With the Louvre always being closed on Tuesdays, the museum is set to reopen to regular hours on Wednesday, Oct. 22.