The Art Thief: A True Story of Love, Crime, and a Dangerous Obsession

The attic is a motif representing Breitwieser and his psychological state. The locked and shuttered room reflects the art thief’s obsessive nature, delusions of grandeur, and reluctance to engage with the real world. Filling the attic with stolen works of art, Breitweiser views it as his own private museum. The space also serves as a sanctuary from the modern world, which he perceives as coarse and “ugly.” In the attic, he can fantasize that he lives in the Renaissance period—his favorite historical era.

The confines of the attic mirror Breitwieser’s intense and unhealthy relationship with Anne-Catherine, who also lives there. His growing impulsivity and recklessness are reflected in the increasingly claustrophobic room, which becomes crammed with items he obsessively steals. The attic’s decline from a “masterpiece” into a “junkyard” illustrates the gradual deterioration of its inhabitant’s lofty ideals. Breitwieser’s indiscriminate hoarding leads to the mistreatment and breakage of valuable artworks. Once the art thief is arrested, the attic represents his loss of control over events: Breitwieser’s ignorance of the police search and his surprise when the attic’s contents disappear signal the master thief’s downfall.