THIEF

A G E N T L E M E N ’ S L I F E S T Y L E M A G A Z I N E

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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Adam Moss

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EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR,

Sona Hacherian Hofstede

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MANAGING EDITOR Adam Pasick FASHION EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Stephanie Trong

COLUMNIST Jonathan Chait

SENIOR EDITORS

Carolyn Murnick, Willa Paskin, Alan Sytsma

ASSOCIATE EDITORS Dan Amira, Kyle Buchanan, Margaret Lyons, Alyssa Shelasky

DIRECTOR OF DESIGN Steve Motzenbecker

ART DIRECTOR Andrei Kallaur

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PREMIER ISSUE

PREMIER ISSUE / MAY 2012

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CONTRIBUTERS

Pablo PicassoPainter, Sculptor

Born in Malaga, Spain, Pablo Picasso, became one of the greatest and most influential artists of the 20th century and the creator (with Georges Braque) of Cubism. A Spanish expatriate painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and stage designer, Picasso was considered radical.

Salvador DaliSurrealist Painter, Designer, Graphic Artist

Spanish painter, sculptor, graphic artist, and de-signer. After passing through phases of Cubism, Futurism and Metaphysical painting, he joined the Surrealists in 1929 and his talent for self-publicity rapidly made him the most famous representative of the movement.

Luke StoufferDesigner & Creative Director

Born deep within the wood of on the outskirts of the small ski town in Aspen, Colorado. After moving to California in 2008 to persue his educational goal of getting a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design. He is quickly approaching his graduation date in April of 2012.

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10 £ 430 MILLION HEIST

14 HISTORIC ART HEISTS

16 ART FORGERY

22 £ 1.3 MILLION GETAWAY

44 MEN’S ROOM

32 WATCHES

36 FOOTWEAR

40 CARRY ON

STOLEN CONTENTS

NATALIA BRILLI26

NICK WOOSTER28

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The Extraordinary Security Blunders Behind The Paris Art Gallery Heist

£ 430MILLION HEIST PARIS 2010


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By PETER ALLENMay 2010

A series of security blunders allowed a lone thief to pull off one of the biggest art heists in history, emerging yesterday out of Paris, France.

Five masterpieces by artists including Picasso and Matisse – worth up to £430 million – were stolen from the Paris Museum of Modern Art early on Thursday.But officials yesterday admitted that during the raid a £15mil-lion alarm system was broken, and had been for three months, guards were said to be ‘dozing’ and external CCTV cameras were all focused on the museum roof.With the alarm out of action, the intruder was able to slip into the museum by removing a window on the ground floor, where he was not recorded by the ineffective outside CCTV.He then spent 15 minutes inside, where three guards were said to have inexplicably missed him as he was filmed by an array of cameras. Investigators believe the staff may have been tak-ing a nap. The crime was not discovered until 7am, three hours after the intruder made his getaway.Paris city hall is responsible for the collection and mayor Bertrand Delanoe said he was ‘hugely upset’ by the blunders. Museum staff will be questioned amid fears the thief had inside help. Security guards working that night at the museum said that the alarm had been malfunctioning constantly before it was shut down on March 30.‘It was going off all the time – causing unnecessary alerts,’ said one. ‘That’s the reason management chose to switch the security system off.’Three highly trained guards were said to have been ‘dozing’ as they missed him on a series of cameras installed inside the building, allowing him to take the Picasso, Matisse, Braque, Modigliani and Leger.It also emerged that the paintings may not even have been insured, because their massive value meant no company would accept the risk. ‘I’m hugely upset by this,’ said Socialist mayor Bertrand Delanoe, who confirmed that more than £15million was spent upgrading the museum’s security system during a two-year refit which ended as recently as 2006.The museum reopened after what was supposed to have been a ‘state-of-the-art refit’, which included the fitting of the alarm system.When this malfunctioned on March 30th, spare parts were ordered, but they had not yet arrived to the museum, Mr. Delanoe admitted.

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Police officers search for clues as they pack up the frames of the stolen paintings outside the Paris Museum of Modern Art yesterday.

French forensic police transfer an empty frame through a window at the Musee d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris after the shocking discovery yesterday.

With no alarms to worry about, the intruder is believed to have entered the building overnight. He forced a security lock open after climbing through the window at the rear of the museum’s East Wing.Then he targeted the five paintings, carefully removing them from their frames before escaping with them in a single bundle.Paris prosecutors confirmed that all of these movements were captured on film, but the guards have told police that they ‘saw nothing’, prompting investigators to believe they were taking a nap.Ordering an ‘internal administrative enquiry’, Mr Dela-noe said ‘all have questions to answer.’Mr Delanoe’s deputy, Christophe Girard – who originally claimed the alarm had simply been ‘deactivated’ rather than broken – said: ‘It’s necessary to let the police find how the security system could have been dodged while evidently the three guards present saw nothing and as a result did not react.’Nobody at either City Hall or the museum would specu-late on insurance – prompting speculation that there was none.‘It may well be that the security was considered good enough,’ said a member of staff at the museum.All staff at the museum will be questioned by detectives who fear that the criminal may have had ‘people on the inside helping him’, according to one officer.‘It’s an enormous crime, one of the biggest in art his-tory,’ said a prosecution source close to the inquiry, who estimated the paintings could be worth upwards of half-a-billion pounds.But a discrepancy over the value of the paintings has emerged with the initial figure of £430million later played down by Mr Girard, who suggested they were only worth up to £100million. It is not clear why the initial figure has been revised, as none of the paintings have been on the open market for years and any valuation at this point remains an estimate.Viscount Charles Dupplin, of Hiscox insurance, said he thought the criminals involved were ‘almost certainly enthusiastic amateurs’ who had decided to launch the raid after ‘getting excited’ about recent high prices for Picas-sos and other works.America’s FBI estimates the stolen art market at being worth more than £5billion. The Art Loss Register lists more than 170,000 pieces of stolen and missing pieces.Picasso is the world’s most stolen artist due to his prolific output and the value of his works. The Art Loss Register lists some 550 missing Picassos.


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1: £13.2m Pastoral by Henri Matisse (1905)

2: £20.3m Dove with Green Peas by Pablo Picasso (1912)

3: £15.0m The Olive Tree near Estaque by Georges Braque (1906)

4: £15.0m The Woman with the Fan by Amedeo Modigliani (1919)

5: £15.0m Still Life with Chandeliers by Fernand Leger (1922)

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Misplaced Masterpieces

HISTORIC ART HEISTS

1911 – 2010


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“Good artists borrow, great artists steal”

May 2010: A lone thief stole five paintings possibly worth hundreds of millions of Euros, including works by Picasso and Matisse, in a brazen overnight heist at a Paris Modern Art Museum.February 2008: Armed robbers stole four paintings by Cezanne, Degas, van Gogh and Monet worth $163.2 mil-lion from the E.G. Buehrle Collection, a private museum in Zurich, Switzerland. The van Gogh and Monet paint-ings were recovered.December 2007: A painting by Pablo Picasso valued at about $50 million, along with one by Brazilian artist Candido Portinari valued at $5 million to $6 million, were stolen from the Sao Paulo Museum of Art in Brazil, by three burglars using a crowbar and a car jack. The paint-ings were later found.February 2007: Two Picasso paintings, worth nearly $66 million, and a drawing were stolen from the Paris, France home of the artist’s granddaughter in an overnight rob-bery. Police later recovered the art when the thieves tried to sell it.February 2006: Around 300 museum-grade artifacts worth an estimated $142 million, including paintings, clocks and silver, were stolen from a 17th-century manor house at Ramsbury in southern England, the largest prop-erty theft in British history, according to reports.February 2006: Four works of art and other objects, in-cluding paintings by Matisse, Picasso, Monet and Salvador Dali, were stolen from the Museu Chacara do Ceu, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, by four armed men during a Carnival pa-rade. Local media estimated the paintings’ worth at around $50 million.August 2004: Two paintings by Edvard Munch, The Scream and Madonna, insured for $141 million, were stolen from the Munch Museum in Oslo, Norway by three men in a daylight raid. The paintings were recovered nearly two years later.August 2003: A $65 million Leonardo da Vinci painting was stolen from Drumlanrig Castle in southern Scotland after two men joined a public tour and overpowered a guide. It was recovered four years later.

May 2003: A 16th-century gold-plated Saliera, or salt cellar, by Florentine master Benvenuto Cel-lini, valued at $69.3 million, was stolen from Vienna’s Art History Museum by a single thief when guards discounted a burglar alarm. The figurine was later recovered.December 2002: Two thieves broke in through the roof of the Vincent Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam and stole two paintings by van Gogh valued at $30 million. Dutch police convicted two men in December 2003, but did not recover the paintings.December 2000: Hooded thieves stole a self-portrait by Rembrandt and two Renoir paintings worth an estimated $36 million from Stockholm’s waterfront National Muse-um, using a motorboat in their escape. All paintings were recovered.October 1994: Seven Picasso paintings worth an esti-mated $44 million were stolen from a gallery in Zurich, Switzerland. They were recovered in 2000.April 1991: Two masked armed men took 20 paintings – worth at least $10 million each at the time – from Amster-dam’s van Gogh Museum. The paintings were found in the getaway car less than an hour later.March 1990: In the biggest art theft in U.S. history, $300 million in art, including works by Vermeer, Rembrandt and Manet, was stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, Massachusetts, by two men in police uniforms.December 1988: Thieves stole three paintings by van Gogh, with an estimated value of $72 million to $90 million, from the Kroeller-Mueller Museum in a remote section of the Netherlands. Police later recovered all three paintings.May 1986: A Vermeer painting, Lady Writing a Letter with her Maid, is among 18 paintings worth $40 million stolen from Russborough House in Blessington, Ireland. Some of the paintings were later recovered.August 1911: Perhaps the most famous case of art theft occurred when the Leonardo Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre by employee Vinczo Peruggia, who was caught two years later.

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GET THE RIGHT PAINTSIt’s fairly easy to analyse the paint pigments used in a picture and compare them with those in a known mas-terpiece, so knowing your paints is crucial. Regardless of whose work he was forging, Tetro knew what he had to buy. “I know Dali used Lefranc [& Bourgeois] oils when he painted in Europe, and Grumbacher oils when he was in the US – he often wintered in New York.”

GET THE OTHER MATERIALS RIGHTIf it was a Dali, Tetro could buy a new canvas and age it himself (see 4 below). If it was an old master, it was better to get an old picture and strip it with paint re-mover. To get one canvas exactly right (it needed to be from Monmatre in France and date back to the 1920s or 1930s), he paid $7000 for a picture before stripping off the paint. “That painting could be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars today. It wasn’t that good anyway.”

PAINT THE RIGHT SCENEIf you’re out to create a previously undiscovered classic, it’s worth researching the paintings of the same artist and the same era – then use similar themes. Getting the texture right is important too. Dali for instance painted with no texture – the brush strokes often aren’t visible and the texture of the canvas itself is visible. As for the artist’s signature, “It has to be fluid,” says Tetro. So practice makes for a convincing scrawl.

AGE THE PAINTINGAgeing the canvas starts by applying diluted bleach to the back to make it feel old and brittle. Then a concoc-tion of umber (brown paint) diluted with thinner and the liquid from cigarette butts soaked in water is rubbed into the back of the canvas and the surrounding wood. “I wouldn’t mind if the painting got scratched and dam-aged, remember it’s old.” The front is aged with a 70/30 blend of thinner and umber blend.

ADD ‘CRACKULAR’

It normally takes 50 years for cracks to appear in a paint-ing. “It adds a ton of authenticity to it. A lot of this is psy-chological – you’ve got to make ’em think they’re looking at something that’s been around for a while.” Tetro mixed oil and water-based liquids that cracked when applied to a painting together. A thin layer of umber was then applied and wiped off – it filled the cracks, looking like dirt. Finally, it was just a case of applying a varnish.

How to Forge a Masterpiece

ART FORGERYTONY TETRO

Renowned art forger Tony Tetro explains how to forge a masterpiece. In his career that spanned the 1970s and 80s, Tetro created paintings that fooled experts and buyers alike.

By SCIENCEFOCUS.COMNovember 2011

“A lot of this is psychological – you’ve got to make ’em think they’re looking at something that’s been around for a while.”


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“Those who do not want to imitate anything, produce nothing.”

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Introducing The

Bentley Mulsanne

www.BENTLEYMOTORS.com

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By BUGATTI.COMJanuary 2012

The idea was to create a car that would rede-fine the boundaries of technology in auto-motive construction while appealing to the

aesthetically inclined and connoisseurs of excep-tional automobiles. To design a roadster that would join the boundless creativity of its designers and the superior skill of its engineers – without compromise on either side. A car that would unite the pinnacle of luxury and unparalleled driving performance to a harmonious whole. The idea was to provide maxi-mum enjoyment without losing sight of safety, style and comfort.

The Grand Sport defies conventional categories. The superior harmony of its design transcends the ordinary, lending the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport its unique character. The open-topped super sports car displays its power, performance, and self-assertion as a matter of course. Simultaneously, it exudes charisma, perfection, and elegance. In other words: it is a Bugatti that follows the technological and aesthetic examples of Ettore Bugatti’s Grand Sport models of the late 1920s – a true Bugatti.

£ 1.3 Gettaway

BUGATTIVEYRON 16.4

2011 Grand Sport

“The idea was to build the world’s fastest convertible car. Bugatti turned this idea into reality: the super sports car Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport.”


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By OAKAZINEDecember 2010

When you realize fashion is really just a collection of objects—albeit delightful, lustful often times pricey objects we’re

often slaves to—designer Natalia Brilli’s collections of miscellany are far from arbitrary. The Italian designer from Belgium, who currently calls Paris home, has designed everything from drum sets and dominoes to leather jewelry for men and women. For Brilli, leather is a staple; the fabric equivalent of a little black dress. She manipulates the soft, matte material into various oddities so deftly that these wearable accessories could easily be mistaken for objets d’art. It’s no wonder why she was brought on as head accessories designer for Rochas in 2004 during Olivier Theyskens tenure. I recently caught up with Brilli to learn more.

What was the inspiration behind your most recent collection?For the SS11 collection the general inspiration was the desert, more precisely the Tuareg and nomadism for the men’s collection, and a more abstract, poetic vision of the desert with its mirages, reflections of the sun and colors for the women’s collection.Did working under Olivier Theyskens for Ro-chas change your work or approach to design?I learnt a lot working with Olivier, he is a very rig-orous designer and doesn’t make any concessions in his work. My approach remains the same, I always remain faithful to my own desires and I wouldn’t sell my soul to the devil for more success.

What other objects would you like to design?Shoes, furniture, and one-off pieces of course…What are your 3 favorite objects? I particularly like the Nolex watchbracelet, the Vanity bag and the Skateboard. What projects are you currently working on?I am currently working on a collaborationw of jewelry objects with the American artist Frank Stel-la, my future shoe collection, a capsule collection in collaboration with the designer Emmanuel Bossuet, and new art pieces [as well as] other collaborations I can’t talk about yet.

The Italian Designer born in Belgium living in Paris

INTERVIEWNATALIA BRILLI


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Can you describe what your atelier looks like?My workshop is based in Le Marais in Paris, it is a very nice place with an office and a showroom around a courtyard. All of my team (6 people) and myself work there.What people, places or things inspire your vision as an artist? The list is very long… My closest friends; women such as Edith Sitwell, Nancy Cunard or Charlotte Rampling for their timeless beauty and their typically British spirit, their troubled and ghostly auras and the mystery that shrouds them; Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger‘s poetic and surreal-istic movies; Jacques Tourneur’s film noir; Midnight Movies from Dario Argento; Alejandro Jodorowsky; 20s and 30s decorative arts and decorators such as Janine Janet and Tony Duquette; Italian architects Carlo Mollino and Gio Ponti; the Northern school of painting (for Belgian, British and Scandinavian painters); contemporary art; traveling; curiosity cabinets; natural sciences and gardens; Nick Cave.Is there is anything you’d like our readers to know about? Currently you can see some of my work in the Christmas windows of the Printemps department store in Paris. I have designed several headpieces and covered a life-size horse in leather. We also opened a pop up store on the second floor at the Printemps until mid January 2011. With your background in sceneography, do you feel that you have been inspired to also design objects? What is it about objects that is so inspiring to you?Yes, scenography is very present in my work be-cause it allows me to think directly in 3D. I think of the object in space, not only on the body, it also allows me to work on bigger volumes. It’s a pleasure to create objects in this category, because they allow me to feel more free in my creation. There is no constraint or limit of the object worn on a body or the constraint of the market and seasons particular to fashion, as they are always changing.

www.NataliaBrilli.fr

By CALEB POLINGDecember 2011

There is no doubt that the Internet has been one of the most beneficial things for menswear. It has allowed men to em-

brace fashion in an entirely new way. Whether it is his work for Gilt Man and Park and Bond, or it’s just his inspiring Tumblr page; menswear pioneer, Nick Wooster, is truly helping guide fashion for today’s guys. To change fashion you must know fashion, which can prove to be difficult considering how reluctant men have been to adopting new sartorial ideas in the past. But menswear is dif-ferent today. Men’s wardrobes are adapting to the current times, and thought is being put into personal style. I recently have the privilege to discuss some of these things with Mr. Wooster. It is always refreshing to hear someone so excited and opti-mistic about menswear.

Gilt really focuses on offering clothing at af-fordable prices. Do you think this factor con-tributes to the success of Gilt MAN as many men today are shopping on a budget?I definitely think that is part of it...but price alone does not guarantee success. In addition to offering great deals, the Gilt MAN merchant team really works to find the best possible. Then we work with the most talented photographers, stylists and art directors to create the best im-age. We have to tell a story. And I think the site, as well as the editorial content of Gilt MANual, really strive to do that.

Menswear & Gilt Man

INTERVIEWNICK WOOSTER

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Often times men are hesitate about style and fashion purely because they are unsure and unin-formed. Things like Gilt Manual allow for explana-tions, inspirations, and guides to build a complete wardrobe. Do you think that the decrease in the effort it takes to find information has caused an increase in interest in fashion for men?Probably, but I also think the blogosphere and Tum-blr in particular, have really created an environment where menswear can shine. I think menswear has come out of the closet. In my experience, guys want information...and the ether is full of lots of great con-tent. Hopefully, we have taken the additional role of editor, to help make sense out of all of it. It’s the most exciting time I have ever seen for hard core informa-tion and geeking out on menswear. Who, from the past, has inspired your style?I get inspiration for everything. Movies, art, people on the street, magazines, stores. No one particular figure in history...maybe Little Lord Fountlaroy. Men typically prefer quality to quantity, and keep those things for a long period of time. What is the oldest thing you own that you still wear today?I have several pair of shoes that are 20+ years old. I have tailored jackets that are 15+ and my first designer purchase from Perry Ellis [an olive tweed coat] that I purchased in 1984.What was your latest purchase?I bought a Raif hand knit cashmere hat and gloves from the GQ @ Park & Bond POP UP.

How would you define a modern gentleman?Great manners. Great taste.

When you look at the past and the men who influ-enced fashion, it is easy to get discouraged and say men today are not trying as hard. However, today men are free to dress however they wish, more so than ever before. Do you believe men are still try-ing, just in a different way than in the past?Absolutely. Times have changed. We no longer have the traditional uniforms and dress codes of the past. I think this has been a double edged sword. When you know that you can only wear one thing...it makes it really easy. Although most men felt restricted by the suit/shirt/tie dress code of the past...we now know with hindsight...it was one less thing to think about. It made shopping for clothes really cut and dry. Now, there is so much pressure, to have the right items, look great in them and feel current. Especially as the workforce seems to get younger. I think guys are try-ing harder than ever. That’s what our editorial content provides--a road map. This year has brought you many new experiences, such as PROJECT Wooster, and now you are at Gilt Man. What is the most exciting thing about working there?It has been an incredible year for me. The two main projects that I am working on, Gilt Man (www.gilt-manual.com) and Park & Bond (www.parkandbond.com), as well as working as a creative advisor to the Project Trade Show...what both groups have in com-mon, is I get the opportunity to work with the most amazing people. I’ve learned at this stage of my life that this is the most important thing. And I really believe in what both groups do.

www.Gilt.com

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• Jaeger le Coultre

• Bell & Ross

• Bretling

• Hublot

• Rolex

Always on TimeWATCHES

TIMEPIECE


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Without a Trace

FORWARDFOOTWEAR

• Android Homme

• Louboutin

• Generic Man

• Tommy Hilfiger

• Mark McNairy

• O.C. x Converse

• Clae


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Every journey begins in the sky.Louis Vuitton Tambour Travel Alarm Clock

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Travel Dark

CARRY ONLUGGAGE

• Delvaux

• Dior Homme

• Gucci

• Louis Vuitton

• JanSport


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T H I E F

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So Fresh & So Clean

CLEAN CUTMENS ROOM

• Dior

• Noon

• Listerine

• Oral B

• Baxter

• Kent

• YSL

• Braun


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Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe Series II

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