Caravaggio Nativity Art Theft in Sicily: Unsolved Since October 1969

Summary: The Caravaggio Nativity art theft treats a masterpiece in a way inconsistent with its painter's wishes: away from its intended home and out of public view.

Caravaggio's Nativity with Saint Francis and Saint Lawrence (Natività con i Santi Lorenzo e Francesco d'Assisi): Yorck Project, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The Federal Bureau of Investigation assigns the Caravaggio Nativity art theft Oct. 17 to 18, 1969, in Palermo, Italy, top priority on the FBI list of the top 10 unsolved art crimes.

The wayward Natività con i Santi Lorenzo e Francesco d'Assisi brings down to one Nativity-themed oils by Michelangelo Merisi (Sept. 29, 1571-July 18, 1610) for Sicily. The other large-scale, same-themed, same-timed Nativity by the Milanese painter nicknamed Caravaggio still coaxes visits from locals and tourists to its churchly home in Messina, Italy. The Oratorio di San Lorenzo (Oratory of Saint Lawrence), since Dec. 13, 2015, decorates the altarpiece wall with a hi-tech replica by the Milan-based Factum Arte.

The Nativity with St. Francis (Sept. 26, 1181?-Oct. 3, 1226) and St. Lawrence (255-Aug. 10, 258) experiences an almost 50-year exile away from its meetinghouse home.

Oratorio di San Lorenzo (Oratory of Saint Lawrence), which housed Caravaggio's stolen Nativity, is located on Via Immacolatella, near Chiesa di San Francesco d'Assisi (center) in Palermo's historic Kalsa quarter; December 2009: CarlesVA, CC BY SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Cloudy, dark, noisy weather around a decrepit landmark abandoned during night-time hours, accessed by narrow streets and attended by an elderly guard furnish the crime scene.

The Caravaggio Nativity art theft crime scene and police record gather means- and perpetrator-related clues from an empty frame giving witness to a gouged-out, large painting. The 105.51-inch- (268-centimeter-) high, 77.56-inch- (197-centimeter-) wide oil hanging on the altarpiece wall has to have been handled by two perpetrators with a getaway car driver.

Giovanni Pastore of the Italian military police's art squad indicates that "It is a fact that the canvas was taken from its frame" and rolled up. He judges that "Therefore the act was committed with a cutter, or even with a razor blade" even though knife-wielding perpetrators also join commonly listed means.

Prior to December 2015 installation of replica created by Adam Lowe of Factum Arte, an empty frame attests to October 1969 art theft of Nativity with Saint Francis and Saint Lawrence (Natività con i Santi Lorenzo e Francesco d'Assisi) at Oratorio di San Lorenzo (Oratory of Saint Lawrence) in Palermo, Sicily: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The police, the press and the public know of one suspected perpetrator through the confession Jan. 2, 1996, of the pentito (repentant) mafia member nicknamed Mozzarella.

The testimony of Francesco Marino Mannoia, Mafia ex-member looked upon as a reliable government witness, lists himself as one of two Caravaggio Nativity art theft perpetrators. Its mention of a painting so mangled during removal and transport as to make destruction, not restoration, the only logical outcome mixes with other pentito memories. Charlie Hill of Scotland Yard's art unit notes "The story probably means that the picture is in terrible shape but capable of being returned and restored."

Adam Lowe of Factum Arte observes that "Losing it [the $20 million painting] throws off the entire scheme of the chapel" and its stucco-decorated, white-painted interior.

Lynda Albertson of Rome's Association for Research into Crimes against Art likewise propounds Mafia involvement since "it is often used as collateral for other illicit activity." Passing time qualifies Caravaggio's Nativity for retrieval since "It is difficult to get these objects back, but often it does happen 30 or 40 years later."

Colonel Roberto Conforti of the Italian military police's art squad reveals the different perspective that "It's more likely that it was stolen for a private collector." He suggests for the wayward Caravaggio Nativity "forgotten [whereabouts] in the attic of some old lady who doesn't know its worth" in or near Palermo.

Resolution of the Caravaggio Nativity art theft takes a masterpiece of honest figures, lit-up shadow and thick brushstrokes back to its intended home since its creation.

photo of British artist Adam Lowe by Alessandro Gaja: The Telegraph @Telegraph via Twitter Dec. 11, 2015

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Caravaggio's Nativity with Saint Francis and Saint Lawrence (Natività con i Santi Lorenzo e Francesco d'Assisi): Yorck Project, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Michelangelo_Caravaggio_035.jpg

Oratorio di San Lorenzo (Oratory of Saint Lawrence), which housed Caravaggio's stolen Nativity, is located on Via Immacolatella, near Chiesa di San Francesco d'Assisi (center) in Palermo's historic Kalsa quarter; December 2009: CarlesVA, CC BY SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cr%C3%A8sia_di_San_Franciscu_d%27Assisi_2.jpg

empty frame of Nativity with Saint Francis and Saint Lawrence (Natività con i Santi Lorenzo e Francesco d'Assisi) at Oratorio di San Lorenzo (Oratory of Saint Lawrence) in Palermo, Sicily: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Oratorio_di_San_Lorenzo.JPG

photo of British artist Adam Lowe by Alessandro Gaja: The Telegraph @Telegraph via Twitter Dec. 10, 2015, @ https://twitter.com/Telegraph/status/675206110480048128

For further information:

Bohlen, Celestine. 8 November 1996. "Mafia and a Lost Caravaggio Stun Andreotti Trial." New York Times > World.
Available @ http://www.nytimes.com/1996/11/08/world/mafia-and-a-lost-caravaggio-stun-andreotti-trial.html

Factum Arte @FactumArte. 11 December 2015. "The re-creation of Caravaggio's Nativity realized by Factum Arte will be officially unveiled tomorrow in Palermo!" Twitter.
Available @ https://twitter.com/FactumArte/status/675242763496120320

McNearney, Allison. 9 October 2016. "Did the Mafia Steal Caravaggio's 'Nativity of St. Francis and St. Lawrence'?" The Daily Beast > Arts + Culture > Lost Masterpieces.
Available @ http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/10/09/did-the-mafia-steal-caravaggio-s-nativity-of-st-francis-and-st-lawrence.html

Neuendorf, Henri. 11 December 2015. "Caravaggio Masterpiece Stolen in Notorious Mafia Heist Replaced with Replica." Artnet News > Art World > Art and Law.
Available @ https://news.artnet.com/art-world/stolen-caravaggio-replaced-replica-391166

Repubblica TV. 12 December 2015. "Palermo, il Ritorno del Caravaggio 2.0." video.repubblica.it.
Available @ http://video.repubblica.it/edizione/palermo/palermo-il-ritorno-del-caravaggio-20-cosi-e-nato-il-clone-della-nativita-sparita/221886/221093

Sooke, Alastair. 23 December 2013. "Caravaggio's Nativity: Hunting a Stolen Masterpiece." British Broadcasting Corporation > Culture > Art > State of the Art > Art History > History.
Available @ http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20131219-hunting-a-stolen-masterpiece

Squires, Nick. 10 December 2015. "How a Long-Lost Caravaggio Masterpiece Was Recreated, Nearly 50 Years After It Was Stolen." The Telegraph > News > World News > Europe > Italy.
Available @ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/12044479/How-a-long-lost-Caravaggio-masterpiece-was-recreated-nearly-50-years-after-it-was-stolen.html

The Telegraph @Telegraph. 10 December 2015. "How a long-lost Caravaggio masterpiece was recreated, nearly 50 years after it was stolen." Twitter.
Available @ https://twitter.com/Telegraph/status/675206110480048128

"Theft of Caravaggio's Nativity with San Lorenzo and San Francesco." Federal Bureau of Investigation > What We Investigate > Violent Crime > Art Theft > FBI Top Ten Art Crimes Art Crime Team.
Available @ https://www.fbi.gov/investigate/violent-crime/art-theft/fbi-top-ten-art-crimes/nativity-with-san-lorenzo-and-san-francesco