Banksy homage to Bataclan stolen from Paris theater

World
Europe

A mural by British street artist Banksy on a fire-exit door at Paris’ Bataclan theater, where extremist militants killed 90 people three years ago, has been stolen, the venue said on Saturday.

The work, one of a series of murals painted last June in the French capital and attributed to Banksy, showed a veiled female figure in a mournful pose.

“We are today filled with a deep sense of indignation. The work of Banksy, a symbol of contemplation belonging to all – residents, Parisians and citizens of the world – has been taken from us,” the Bataclan said in a Twitter post.

Thieves with a van had stolen the door on which the mural was painted the previous night, a police source told Reuters.

A man walks past artwork by street artist Banksy in Paris on a side street to the Bataclan concert hall where a terrorist attack killed 90 people in 2015, June 25, 2018. /VCG File Photo

The Bataclan theater was stormed by militants during a rock concert in November 2015, as part of coordinated attacks in and around Paris that killed 130 people.

Some of Banksy's works in Paris, which also addressed issues like immigration, were vandalized soon after they were put up, while others were protected by screens.

The murals of Banksy, who keeps his real name secret, have become prized attractions for collectors. A work created last month in an industrial town in Wales, depicting a child enjoying snow was sold for over 100,000 pounds (132,000 U.S. dollars).

(Top image: A man takes a photo of an artwork by street artist Banksy on a side street to the Bataclan concert hall in Paris, where a terrorist attack killed 90 people in 2015, June 25, 2018. /VCG File Photo)

Source(s): Reuters