Police in Italy have unveiled a Banksy artwork that was discovered stashed in the attic of a farmhouse, 18 months after it was stolen from a door of the Bataclan concert hall in Paris.
The stenciled work depicts a veiled girl in mourning, and was painted by the elusive street artist in 2018 as a tribute to the 90 victims killed in the 2015 terror attack at the venue.
The work was stolen in January 2019, with CCTV images showing hooded men cutting the work away from the stage door with angle grinders, before driving off in a van.
Until now, police had no information on the work’s whereabouts. However, on Wednesday, it was discovered in the attic of a farmhouse in the Italian town of Tortoreto, Abruzzo.
Police said a Chinese family were renting the farmhouse, but they appeared to have nothing to do with the theft. However, Emanuele Pipola, a colonel in the Carabinieri police, confirmed that the owner of the house did have access to the attic.
The artwork was presented at a press conference on Thursday, with police admitting they still had little idea of who stole the work. No arrests have been made.
-
People take pictures of a new Banksy artwork in Islington, London, in March 2024. Getty Images -
A work by Banksy is removed in Peckham, south-east London, in December 2023. Getty Images -
Graffiti created by British artist Banksy under a protective screen on the damaged wall of a residential building in Irpin, Ukraine in April 2023. Getty Images -
An artwork painted on the side of a property in Herne Bay, Kent in March 2023. PA -
The artwork by street artist Banksy, titled 'Valentine's Day Mascara' on the side of a building in Margate, Kent in February 2023. PA -
A Reveller walks by a graffiti attributed to Banksy as he arrives at Worthy Farm in Somerset during the Glastonbury Festival in June 2022. Reuters -
A Banksy artwork in Nottingham in October 2020. Reuters -
Show me the Monet by Banksy at Sotheby's Galleries in London in October 2020. AFP -
Banksy's Sunflowers From Petrol Station, inspired by Vincent van Gogh. PA -
Banksy captioned the photo of this work Game Changer. Photo: Instagram -
A customised stab-proof vest by street artist Banksy at the Design Museum in London. EPA -
A Banksy stencil posted on Instagram in June 2020, with a caption asking 'What should we do with the empty plinth in the middle of Bristol?' Photo: Instagram -
A Banksy piece inspired by the death of George Floyd and subsequent Black Lives Matter protests. Photo: Instagram -
Girl with a Pierced Eardrum, in Bristol. Getty -
Banksy released a new piece in his bathroom as he worked from home during the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020. Photo: Instagram -
A Valentine's Day piece by Banksy appeared in Bristol in February 2020. Reuters -
A Christmas mural by Banksy in Birmingham, December 2019. The piece made a statement about homelessness. Reuters -
Banksy's pop-up shop called Gross Domestic Product in Croydon, London in 2019. AFP -
A view of Banksy's migrant child mural, half-submerged in high water in Venice, November 2019. EPA -
Devolved Parliament at Sotheby's auction house in London, featuring chimpanzees as MPs in the House of Commons. EPA -
A Banksy artwork in Marble Arch, London, at the site of an Extinction Rebellion protest camp. EPA -
Love is in the Bin at the Frieder Burda Museum in Baden-Baden, Germany. EPA -
There is Always Hope. EPA -
Season's Greetings (2018) was painted on a garage in Port Talbot, Wales. Getty -
Part of the unauthorised exhibition entitled Banksy, Genius or Vandal? in Madrid, December 2018. EPA -
A piece by Banksy, acquired by actor Robin Williams, was among auction items on display in Los Angeles, September 2018. EPA -
A Brexit-inspired mural by Banksy in Dover, south-east England. EPA -
A veiled woman in mourning beside the Bataclan concert venue in Paris where 90 people where killed by terrorists in November 2015. EPA -
An artwork attributed to Banksy showing Napoleon's horse rearing, in Paris, June 2018. EPA -
A mural depicting a rat on a popped champagne cork, in Paris, June 2018. EPA -
A rat in the inner portion of a clock in New York City, March 2018. EPA -
A Banksy mural highlights the imprisonment of Turkish artist and journalist Zehra Dogan, on the Bowery, New York City in February 2019. EPA -
A Banksy painting appeared on the first day of the 2017 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. EPA -
Flying Copper on display in Berlin. EPA -
The Bridge Farm Primary School where a new mural appeared during half term in Withchurch, England. The mural was a thanks to the school for naming a school wing after Banksy. EPA -
The Son of a Migrant from Syria depicting Apple's Steve Jobs in the refugee camp called The Jungle in Calais, France. EPA -
Dismaland, a temporary exhibition that opened at a derelict seafront lido in Weston-Super-Mare, England in 2015. Getty -
Bomb Hugger after it was defaced in Hamburg, February 2015. EPA -
Banksy appeared to comment on methods used by Britain's intelligence services with this piece in Cheltenham. EPA -
The Twin Towers in Tribeca appeared in New York in 2013. EPA -
A mural by Banksy in Queens, New York. EPA -
Three years after Hurricane Katrina wrought havoc in the Gulf of Mexico, Banksy created some commemorative pieces in New Orleans, Louisiana. EPA -
Another mural by Banksy in New Orleans. EPA -
A Banksy in London, May 2008. EPA -
A piece to mark Queen Elizabeth II's golden jubilee appeared on Clink Street, near London Bridge, in May 2002. EPA
“We don’t have solid information on why it was brought to Italy and in particular Abruzzo,” said prosecutor Michele Renzo. “What is important is that we have recovered a work that records a tragic event and that is a symbol of the fight against terrorism.”
The discovery was the result of a joint investigation by French and Italian police. One of the French officers involved in the investigation was present at the 2015 terror attack, it was revealed.
“It was a very emotional moment for my colleague. We've known each other for 20 years. He intervened at the Bataclan attack. What he saw inside, such tragedy, all those bodies. This is a huge achievement for him,” said Major Christophe Cengig, from the organised crime unit of the French embassy in Rome.
The door will be subject to forensic testing before being returned to the Bataclan concert hall. Staff there have been informed of the find and are “thrilled”.
"It belongs to the Bataclan, it belongs to all of France in a sense," Major Cengig said.
The work was part of a series painted by Banksy in Paris in 2018 to mark 50th anniversary of the 1968 Paris student uprising.
