Vjeran Tomic, 'Spider-Man' art thief, receives eight-year prison sentence for 2010 Paris museum heist
On February 22, 2017, Paris's criminal court sentenced Vjeran Tomic, known as 'Spider-Man' due to his agile break-ins, to eight years in prison. Tomic admitted to pilfering five masterpieces from the Museum of Modern Art in Paris on May 20, 2010, including notable works by Amedeo Modigliani, Fernand Léger, Georges Braque, Henri Matisse, and Pablo Picasso. His accomplices, antiques dealer Jean-Michel Corvez and clockmaker Yonathan Birn, also faced penalties. The court mandated that the trio pay a total of €104 million in indemnification based on the artworks' 2010 value, alongside personal fines. Judges characterized the offense as theft of 'cultural goods belonging to humankind's artistic heritage.' Tomic claimed that Matisse's 1905 painting 'Pastoral' represented 'his youth.' The whereabouts of the stolen art remain uncertain—whether they were sold, concealed, or destroyed. The sentencing was reported by The New York Times.
Key facts
- Vjeran Tomic sentenced to eight years in prison on 22 February 2017
- Stole five masterpieces from Paris's Museum of Modern Art on 20 May 2010
- Works by Modigliani, Léger, Braque, Matisse, and Picasso were taken
- Two accomplices, Jean-Michel Corvez and Yonathan Birn, also sentenced
- Collective indemnification of €104 million ordered based on 2010 artwork values
- Judges called the theft of 'cultural goods belonging to humankind's artistic heritage'
- Tomic said Matisse's 'Pastoral' (1905) 'embodied [his] youth'
- Fate of stolen paintings unknown—possibly sold, hidden, or destroyed
Entities
Artists
- Amedeo Modigliani
- Fernand Léger
- Georges Braque
- Henri Matisse
- Pablo Picasso
- Vjeran Tomic
- Jean-Michel Corvez
- Yonathan Birn
Institutions
- Museum of Modern Art
- New York Times
Locations
- Paris
- France