A French man admitted to police that he stole Rembrandt’s “Child with a Soap Bubble” from the Municipal Museum in southeastern France. The work was recovered last week after French police caught the unidentified man and an accomplice attempting to sell the painting, which is estimated to be worth around $5.4 million. The painting has been missing since 1999.
The burglar, who said that he never earned any money from the painting, told police that he stole the canvas by breaking into the municipal library next door to the museum during a Bastille Day parade. Authorities returned the painting to curator Jeanine Bussieres on Thursday, March 20. Bussieres told the AP, “We are thrilled...this Rembrandt was one of our masterpieces. The child in the picture is smiling because he has a soap bubble. But yes, he could be smiling now because he’s been returned to us.”
The Municipal Museum acquired the 17th century painting in 1794, making it one of institution’s first acquisitions.
