Ghent · 10 April 1934
The Just Judges
One panel leaves a cathedral in the night. A note says it was taken from Germany.
Still missingStill missing. A copy has hung in its place since 1945
The facts
- When
- The night of 10 April 1934
- Where
- Saint Bavo Cathedral, Ghent, Belgium
- Taken
- The Just Judges, the lower left panel of the Ghent Altarpiece by the van Eycks, with the painting on its back
- The thief
- Arsène Goedertier, a church sexton and stockbroker, according to the police. He died before he could be tried
- Outcome
- Never found. A copy has hung in its place since 1945
How it went
10 April 1934
In the night, the panel is lifted out of its frame. Wikipedia says it was done apparently with care, and the other panels are not damaged.1, 2
The note
The thief leaves a note in French: “Taken from Germany by the Treaty of Versailles.” The altarpiece had been taken to Berlin in the First World War and came back under that treaty.1
30 April
The Bishop of Ghent receives a ransom demand for one million Belgian francs. The Belgian minister will not agree to pay.1, 2
May to October
The letters continue. At least eleven pass between the thief and the government, which argues the panel belongs to the nation, not the diocese. To prove he has it, the thief sends a ticket for a package left at a Brussels railway station. Inside is the painting from the back of the panel.1, 2
25 November 1934
Goedertier, dying, tells his lawyer: “I alone know where the Mystic Lamb is.” He says he will take the secret to his grave. The lawyer finds carbon copies of the ransom notes in his desk.1, 2
A month later
The lawyer tells the police. They conclude Goedertier was the thief.1, 2
1945
The panel is replaced with a copy by the restorer Jef Van der Veken. He gives one of the horsemen the face of King Leopold III, so the copy can be told apart.1
The twist
He says he'll take the secret to his grave. He does.
What came after
Where the sources disagree, and what we left out
- Wikipedia says Goedertier was possibly the thief. The police concluded he was. He never stood trial. We say only what he told his lawyer.
- Sources differ on the number of ransom letters: at least eleven on Wikipedia, thirteen in The Art Newspaper. We say at least eleven.
- Sources differ on which saint is on the back of the panel. We do not name him.
- We left out the story that the police chief left the scene to investigate a theft at a cheese shop. It rests on one page.