The Art Thief: A True Story of Love, Crime, and a Dangerous Obsession

As a child, Breitwieser keeps his “favorite things in the world” in a blue plastic container (23). The box comes to symbolize obsession and compulsion when Breitwieser places a shard of lead from a Roman coffin inside. Although he acquires the coffin fragment inadvertently as it breaks off the exhibit, the incident represents the first of many thefts of antiquities. Breitwieser keeps the box into adulthood, adding an ancient stolen belt buckle to its contents. A precursor to the attic (see below), Breitwieser views the blue box as a repository for items he judges to be perfect. His reverence for these objects highlights his preference for possessions over people, as they “never enrage him, bully him, or abandon him” (25).

The attic is a motif representing Breitwieser and his psychological state. The locked and shuttered room reflects the art thief’s obsessive nature, delusions of grandeur, and reluctance to engage with the real world. Filling the attic with stolen works of art, Breitweiser views it as his own private museum. The space also serves as a sanctuary from the modern world, which he perceives as coarse and “ugly.” In the attic, he can fantasize that he lives in the Renaissance period—his favorite historical era.