Dali sculpture snatched from Belgian museum

Wow, this takes some chutzpah.  To just walk in and snatch a statue?

Via France24

AFP - A man stole a bronze sculpture by Salvador Dali in broad daylight at an exhibit in western Belgium, walking away with the statuette hidden in a bag, Belgian media said Friday.
 
The man bought a ticket like any other customer to visit the Dali exhibit at the Belfry tower in Bruges on Wednesday afternoon, walked around the halls and removed the piece from its base, the newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws reported.

The whole scene was captured by surveillance cameras, which police were examining, Belga news agency reported.

The statuette, titled "Woman With Drawers" and created in 1964, is worth between 100,000 and 120,000 euros (127,000-152,000 dollars), Bruges police said. It is 50 centimetres (20 inches) high and weighs 10 kilos (22 pounds).

The Spanish surrealist artist's piece depicts a young woman lying on her side with six drawers coming out of her chest and abdomen.

The statue was insured but it was not protected by an alarm system, one of the exhibit's organisers, Stefaan Delbaere, told Het Laatste Nieuws.

The gallery's two guards were also in charge of selling tickets and an accomplice to the crime had probably blocked their view from the theft, Delbaere said.

The theft took place nearly one year after a paiting [sic] by Belgian surrealist artist Rene Magritte was snatched from a Brussels museum, also in broad daylight.

In September 2009, two masked men with a pistol entered the museum dedicated to Magritte's life and work, and took a 1948 nude entitled "Olympia" worth between 750,000 and three million euros.

The Diver, His Hand and the Little Giantess

I'm going to take a break from posting photos from our Berlin/Copenhagen trip for this post. This weekend, as part of the Summer of Antwerp Celebrations, Royal de Luxe brought their unique brand of street theater to Antwerp. Royal de Luxe is world renowned for their gigantic marionettes. This troupe of performers has traveled the globe entertaining young and old. The choreography, the artistry and the engineering align perfectly to bring these, well, puppets to life. Please enjoy.

B & J

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The story goes, that back in the time of legends, there was a giant who lived on the banks of a river. All ships that entered the river had to pass him on their way to harbor. Being an ingenious giant, he said that any ship that wanted to pass had to pay a toll. The giant soon became fabulously wealthy, and with his wealth he built the city of his dreams. In his city he dug docks which he used as enormous bathtubs for himself and the other giants who came to visit him.

One day, conquerors from another land took the giant prisoner and cut off his hand! They threw both the giant and his hand into the ocean, where the currents carried him and his hand to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. The hand was able to live on since everyone knows that giants are magical creatures, and so are their hands. But the hand was lonely. It laid on the sea bed only having the rocks, algae and fish to keep it company.

One day, a horrible storm blew and howled on the surface. The sea boiled with anger. Sadly a ship belonging to the Red Star Line sunk close to the hand. A mail bag from the wreck floated down and brushed the hand. The hand decided that it must return the mailbag to the dock, and with courage and determination it took the mailbag to one of the bathtubs in the city. Sadly since the hand was not attached to an arm, it could not lift the mail bag on to the dock.

Meanwhile, the Little Giantess set off in a boat in search of the giant, her uncle. She searched high and low, but could not find them.

Under the ocean where the giant rested, he was awoke buy an erupting geyser. The giants who lived under the ocean took care of him. They made him a diving suit so he could go look for his niece, the Little Giantess, whom he loved so much.

Over submarine sand dunes he walked until he made his way back to one of the baths in the town, where he lay stretched out.

The story goes, that he, his hand, the mailbag and the small giantess were all reunited – but this is all just a legend.

The Little Giantess Sets Out

She sails and sails, but as night approaches, it's time for a rest.
































The Giant Searches for His Niece

The giant wakes up, ready to resume his search for his niece.