A painting of Van Gogh has just been stolen in the middle of the museum closing due to corona virus

 The museum was closed earlier this month because of the COVID-19 disease.

" I was shocked and extremely upset, " said museum director Jan Rudolph de Lorm. " The beautiful and moving picture of one of the greatest painters has been stolen from the community ."

Lentetuin painting by Vincent Van Gogh

Dutch news website Het Laatste said thieves broke into the museum by breaking a glass door. This action triggered the alarm, and the police immediately arrived at the scene. However, they could not find the intruders. This page shows a temporary door that has been replaced by one of the museum's two glass front doors (below).

The front door of Singer Laren museum

Lentetuin was painted by Van Gogh in the Dutch town of Nuenen, where he lived with his parents from 1883 to 1885. It depicts a monastery garden where Van Gogh's father was a pastor. The value of the picture is still unknown.

Criminals, both small and sophisticated, have taken advantage of the corona virus pandemic to destroy the lives of people around the world. Last week, Europol warned that many criminals are taking advantage of the crisis to sell COVID-19 counterfeit drugs and try to get into buyers' homes under the guise of "drug testing." And in the US, many visitors to the national park also started stealing antiseptic hand sanitizer and toilet paper from public toilets.

This is not the first time the Singer Laren museum has been targeted by thieves. In 2007, seven statues were stolen from the museum's sculpture garden, including Auguste Rodin's The Thinker. The statue was quickly recovered, but lost one leg. In 2011, the statue was put back on display after a long restoration process.