Stolen Edgar Degas painting found inside a bus

On Dec. 31, 2009, "Les Choristes," a pastel by Edgar Degas, was stolen from the Cantini Museum in Marseille, which borrowed the work from the Musée d’Orsay in Paris for a temporary exhibition. Last Feb. 16, France ’s customs police found the painting, which measures 32 centimeters by 27 centimeters, in the trunk of a bus parked in an area east of Paris, inside a suitcase and in excellent condition. None of the passengers claimed ownership of the suitcase.

The head of the French Ministry of Culture, Francoise Nyssen, commented, “Its disappearance represented a heavy loss for France’s Impressionist heritage.” The painting, in fact, is worth a whopping 800,000 euros, but the Cantini Museum claims it is worth as much as 30 million euros. Now, “Les Choristes” is eagerly awaited by the Musée d’Orsay, which would like to display the work in an exhibition dedicated to Degas scheduled for 2019.

Stolen Edgar Degas painting found inside a bus

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