Rembrandt Van Gogh The Stolen Beauty

The Stolen Beauty I appeal to you today to discuss the network of crime developed specifically for stealing priceless works of art and to recognize the destruction of various historical artifacts. Art stolen for its value is not only theft but also a disrespect to its importance as a historical and cultural symbol as well as the artist and community. The unjustified destruction of art and heritage sites due to iconoclasm marks the disrespect and dismissal of various cultures. An estimated 5 billion dollars’ worth of art and antiques are stolen each year (Sandy). Of the numerous paintings that have been stolen, Van Gogh’s piece’s have been the most frequent to be taken. His painting Poppy Flowers, which has an estimated value of over fifty

This piece of art was sadly stolen by people for profit. Surely there are other ways to make money other than stealing priceless art that can be appreciated by all instead of the few that payed for the ill gotten artwork. These vile human beings just decided that they could take any art they wanted and not have to pay for. This takes away from other people who may want to view the artwork. These acts of stealing art which has been donated, bought, and displayed is a travesty that should not be allowed in this day and age. This painting The Storm on the Sea of Galilee was stolen Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum by two men dressed like cops. This painting was part of a five million dollar heist and the reward for its return is five million. Why should one man have the right to view an artwork that was supposed to be viewed by many in a plethora of museums all across the

Ideological disputes and war cause uncountable artifacts to be destroyed. In a recent Bahraini uprising of 2011, high ruling Sunni officials destroyed as many as 43 Shia mosques and several other religious structures. Among these was a four hundred year old Ottoman Amir Mohammed Braighi mosque in Aali. The destruction was motivated by Shia protests against Sunni discrimination towards their community. The government of Bahrain stated that they had removed structures that had been created without legal authorization. Several Shiite clerics, including Isa Qassim, declared the destruction of these mosques as a shameless act by the government and urged them to rebuild the sites that they destroyed. The Bahrain government continued to defended their claim that they destroyed these buildings due to illegal construction without permits, but they eventually rebuilt them in 2012. Sadly in this world there are some people who would rather burn down historic sites than appreciate them. In 2014 Syrian rebels burned the Norias of Hama, which is a giant water wheel that is used to pull water into aqueducts. These Norias were a example of outstanding human technology during their time and were nominated to be tentative World Heritage Site. The fact that people burned down one of the Norias of Hama angered many people. This angered people of the city even more so, because the Norias are a symbol of the city and represent something