The appeal of the blue jacket…

A 72-year old woman stole a jacket on display as part of an exhibition at the Musée Picasso…. and then had it altered to fit her. 

Artist Oriol Vilanova exhibited a jacket filled with postcards visitors could remove and examine at the Musée Picasso in Paris. Vilanova’s artwork belongs to his “Old Masters” series which involved filling the pockets of a blue jacket with postcards depicting artworks by major figures in art history. At the Musée Picasso, the jacket was filled with postcards purchased at flea markets and museum shops, all with images of Picasso’s work.

The woman, who had been captured on surveillance camera, returned for a second visit a few days later and was promptly arrested by the police. While in custody, the retiree—who was reportedly “passionate” about art — immediately confessed to stealing the jacket but claimed not to have realized it was an artwork. Police searched her home, where they found it with shortened sleeves. After a few hours of interrogation, the public prosecutor’s office let the woman off with a warning and dropped the case.