Draft:Mario Pierre Roymans (thief)

• Comment: Please see Wikipedia:Notability (people)#People notable for only one event (and The Love Letter (Vermeer)#Theft). Hoary (talk) 05:20, 22 April 2026 (UTC)

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On September 23, 1971, the painting The Love Letter (Vermeer) was stolen from its display at The Centre for Fine Arts, Brussels, where it was on loan from the Rijksmuseum. The thief, 21-year-old Mario Pierre Roymans, a hotel waiter, locked himself in an electrical closet until the museum closed. He removed Vermeer's The Love Letter from the wall and attempted to escape through a window.

The Theft and Damage

Method: When the frame proved too large for the window, Roymans used a potato peeler to cut the canvas from its frame.

Damages: He folded the painting, causing further damage to the 17th-century masterpiece, and hid it in his hotel room before attempting to bury it in a forest.

Motive: Roymans, described as an "idealist," aimed to bring attention to the plight of refugees in Pakistan, demanding 200 million Belgian francs.

Recovery: The painting was recovered damaged two weeks later.

The painting was subsequently restored and returned to the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

References

https://www.essentialvermeer.com/fakes_thefts_school_of_delft_lost_sp/vermeer_theft_01.html