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Stealing the Mystic Lamb: The True Story of the World's Most Coveted Masterpiece Audiobook
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(3.04) - 164 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
Jan van Eyck's Ghent Altarpiece is on any art historian's list of the ten most important paintings ever made. Often referred to by the subject of its central panel, the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, it represents the fulcrum between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. It is also the most frequently stolen artwork of all time.
Since its completion in 1432, this twelve-panel oil painting has been looted in three different wars, burned, dismembered, forged, smuggled, illegally sold, censored, hidden, attacked by iconoclasts, hunted by the Nazis and Napoleon, used as a diplomatic tool, ransomed, rescued by Austrian double-agents, and stolen a total of thirteen times.
In this fast-paced, real-life thriller, art historian Noah Charney unravels the stories of each of these thefts. In the process, he illuminates the whole fascinating history of art crime and the psychological, ideological, religious, political, and social motivations that have led many men to covet this one masterpiece above all others.
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"It''s a wonderful history about Jan van Eyck and from the moment he painted this work till the present time.A real page turner about all the thefts of it''s parts, have parts have vanished , were copied etc through the Napoleonic wars, the two worldwars...........rather bewildering at times.! "
— Holland (5 out of 5 stars)
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“In Charney’s hand, the story of the various heists often reads like a political thriller.”
— Maclean’s -
A brisk tale of true-life heroism, villainy, artistry and passion.
— Kirkus -
“Well-written and thorough, this book reminds us of the influence and fragility of art, our veniality and heroism, and the delights found in both the beautiful and the strange.”
— Cleveland Plain Dealer -
“Action-packed…In scrupulous detail, Charney divulges the secrets of the revered painting’s past, and in doing so, gives readers a history lesson on art crime, a still-prospering black market.”
— Christian Science Monitor -
“Charney’s wonderfully learned and entertaining book tells us about all the indignities this famous image has endured through the centuries…but the book also has some much broader point to make about the cultural significance of important paintings…Charney tackles some important subjects (the creation of the modern art-stealing industry, our sensible obsession with almost burglar-proof museums) but he wears his learning lightly and the next extraordinary tale is only ever a few pages away. Best of a very good bunch must be the account of the Monuments Men: the highly qualified people who followed in the wake of the liberating armies at the end of World War Two…It is good to hear their story and all the other bizarre tales this innovative and elegant book has to tell.”
— Catholic Herald -
“Charney unsnarls the tangled history of Jan van Eyck’s fifteenth-century The Ghent Altarpiece (a.k.a. The Mystic Lamb), ‘the most desired and victimized object of all time.’ With a novelist’s sense of structure and tension, the author adds an easy familiarity with the techniques of oil painting and with the intertwining vines of art and political and religious history…A brisk tale of true-life heroism, villainy, artistry, and passion.”
— Kirkus Reviews
Stealing the Mystic Lamb Listener Reviews
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" For me, the book stopped being interesting when it reached the 20th century.Up until then I thought it was fascinating. "
— James, 1/17/2014 -
" It's pretty dry, but I knew almost nothing of the Mystic Lamb so I learned a lot. "
— Lynne, 1/7/2014 -
" A well written and compelling tale of the history of one of our greatest masterpieces and the lengths people have gone to to steal or destroy it. Highly recommend. "
— Alan, 11/4/2013 -
" Had never heard of this story, or knew much about the art piece. Another story proving that truth is better than fiction. John Grisham and Tom Clancy can't tell a story better than these for me. "
— Chris, 7/8/2013 -
" Gives you a whole new appreciation of the famous works arts hanging in galleries all over the world. "
— Tomlikeslife, 6/25/2013 -
" Not a bad book. I learned something about art theft. It was just the kid of book that works for a book club. "
— Simon, 6/13/2013 -
" I liked the book because I love art and I was able to see the altarpiece in 2001. "
— J, 6/13/2013 -
" I learned a lot from this book. I especially enjoyed the chapters at the end of the book that discussed the Nazi cspture of art during WWII. Very interesting. "
— Sheridan, 7/12/2012 -
" A well written and compelling tale of the history of one of our greatest masterpieces and the lengths people have gone to to steal or destroy it. Highly recommend. "
— Alan, 5/25/2011 -
" Not a bad book. I learned something about art theft. It was just the kid of book that works for a book club. "
— Simon, 2/7/2011
About Noah Charney
Jennifer Dixon is a retired board-certified music therapist, licensed counselor, and veteran of the Michigan Opera and several community theaters, that has explored the power of words and music to motivate, inspire, provoke, soothe, and heal-all of which she brings to her work as an audiobook narrator. Even though she was born within the sound of Bow Bells in London England (now residing in the beautiful state of Michigan), Jennifer has a “proper old-fashioned BBC sound, with American overtones,” but can conjure up her cockney side if need be!