Reported by 1 source

The short version

  • Intruders stole the heavy bronze cover designed by Salvador Dalí for the Livre de l’Apocalypse from a private gallery in central France.
  • The theft occurred over the weekend when thieves breached the facility, destroying display cases but leaving the book's parchment pages intact.
  • This incident follows several high-profile art heists across Europe in recent months, raising questions about security and the black market for bulky artifacts.

A significant cultural loss occurred in central France this past weekend when thieves targeted a private contemporary art collection in the town of Issoire. The perpetrators removed a massive bronze book cover designed by Salvador Dalí, an object weighing approximately 330 pounds. The theft took place between Sunday night and Monday morning, marking another high-profile incident in a series of recent art crimes across Europe.

The stolen item is the front cover of the Livre de l’Apocalypse, a monumental artistic project completed between 1958 and 1961. French publisher Joseph Forêt commissioned seven prominent artists and seven writers to interpret the Book of Revelation. The resulting work includes 150 scroll-sized pages featuring text and illustrations by figures such as Ossip Zadkine, Léonard Foujita, Jean Cocteau, and Jean Giono. The creation process required more than 2,000 hours of labor.

News Journal

Dalí’s contribution was the book’s exterior casing, crafted using a lost-wax casting technique. The cover is a complex assembly of bronze, gemstones, pearls, forks, and seashells, centered around a prominent crucifix. At the time of its creation, the entire volume weighed roughly 463 pounds. It was considered the most expensive book in the world, valued at 2 million francs, which equates to approximately $4.5 million in current currency.

Christian Karoutzos, who owns the piece and operates an art restoration company and gallery in Issoire, described the work as a unique masterpiece. He expressed deep distress over the loss, stating that French heritage had been severely damaged. The cover and several of the book’s parchments were on display at his private center when the break-in occurred.

According to Karoutzos, an unknown number of intruders forced their way through an exterior gate. They proceeded to demolish the plexiglass case protecting the artwork. While the thieves focused on the heavy bronze cover, they left all of the book’s parchment pages untouched. The method used to transport such a heavy object remains unclear to authorities.

Karoutzos acquired the tome in 2003 for several million euros. He purchased it from previous owners who had intended to dismantle the work and sell its components individually. Before entering private hands, the book toured nearly 150 exhibitions worldwide over more than a decade. It notably appeared at the French pavilion during the 1964 World’s Fair in Queens, New York, where it was insured for $1 million.

Art experts have expressed bewilderment regarding the logistics of the crime. Jean-Christophe Castelain, editor-in-chief of the Journal des Arts, questioned why a thief would target an object weighing 210 kilograms. He noted that the artistic value of the whole far exceeds the sum of its individual parts, making it difficult to liquidate on the black market.

This heist is part of a troubling trend in European art security. In September, thieves stole four Renoir paintings worth an estimated $2.5 million from a museum on the French Riviera. Earlier that month, Bronze Age artifacts were looted in Villena, Spain, and Renaissance works by Antonello da Messina were taken from a Sicilian museum. These events suggest a coordinated or opportunistic wave of criminal activity targeting cultural institutions.

Local officials have emphasized the incalculable nature of the loss. Issoire Mayor Bertrand Barraud described the book as a lifetime achievement. The investigation continues as authorities attempt to determine how the thieves managed to remove such a heavy item without detection. The fate of the Dalí cover and its potential recovery remain uncertain.

The incident highlights vulnerabilities in private collections that may lack the robust security measures of major public museums. While the parchment pages survived, the symbolic and structural heart of the Livre de l’Apocalypse is now missing. The art world watches closely to see if this theft will be linked to other recent crimes or if it represents an isolated act of vandalism.

Sources behind this briefing

Go to the original reporting

  • Smithsonian Magazine↗Thieves Pulled Off Another Shocking Art Heist in France. This Time, They Took a 330-Pound Bronze Book Cover Designed by Salvador Dalí