Want to know which are the most renowned recovered paintings ever? Although art heists may seem a thing of fiction, portrayed in films like The Thomas Crown Affair or the most recent The Best Offer, they are actually more ordinary events than we think. Whether stolen from museums, galleries or private collections, works of art are constantly missing and being looked for by their rightful owners. Naturally, the more famous the artist the more valuable a painting is, and more likely to be stolen. So, if you want to know which works of art could be target for future thefts, maybe checking out the 6 Richest Painters In The World 2014 is a good way to start guessing. Are you curious about the most renowned recovered paintings ever? Let’s take a look at the countdown and find out! 
7. Saint Jerome Writing
Painted by the Italian master Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio sometime between 1607 and 1608, this painting was stolen in 1984 from St. John’s Co-Cathedral in Valetta, Malta. When it was finally recovered in 1988, Saint Jerome Writing was clearly damaged: a result from the burglars cutting it out from its frame. A couple years after the recovery, in 1990, the painting was sent to restoration and at the moment it is displayed at the cathedral once again.
6. Count Lepic and His Daughters
Stolen in 2008 from the Foundation E.G. Bührle in Zurich, this painting is an 1870 work from the renowned French artist, Edgar Degas. On that February 10th of 2008 three more paintings were stolen together with Count Lepic and His Daughters, including a painting by Cézanne, a Monet piece, and a Van Gogh painting. The art heist amounted to $162.5 million in total but all four paintings were finally recovered, and the Degas piece appeared in 2012 in Serbia with slight damages.
5. Adoration of the Mystic Lamb
Also known as the Ghent Altarpiece and The Lamb of God, this work of art is a Flemish polyptych panel painting by Hubert and Jan van Eyck. The whole altarpiece consists of twelve panels, and at the moment only one of them is still missing. Nevertheless, you can still enjoy the masterpiece at its original location in St. Bavo’s Cathedral in Ghent, Belgium (the missing panel, ‘The Just Judges’ is represented by a copy made by an art restorer). The 1432 work of art suffered a heist twice, the latest one during the German occupation of Belgium in World War II.
4. Jacob de Gheyn III
Painted by Rembrandt, Jacob de Gheyn III is a portrait of the eponymous Dutch engraver. The size of the piece, which is 12 by 10 inches small, contributed to its numerous thefts over the years –it has been stolen four times since 1966. At the moment, this unlucky painting, nicknamed ‘takeaway Rembrandt’, can be appreciated at the Dulwich Picture Gallery in London.
3. The Boy in the Red Waistcoat
In 2008, a painting also known as The Boy in the Red Vest by Paul Cézanne was stolen along with three other valuable paintings from a Zurich museum. This oil painting was the most valuable of the lot and of the whole museum (around $91 million). Luckily, this famous work of art was recovered in 2012 and visitors of the Foundation E.G. Bührle can enjoy it once again.
2. The Scream
The most famous example of Expressionist art is a composition by Edvard Munch originally entitled Der Schrei der Natur, or as it is commonly referred to, The Scream. Between 1893 and 1910 the Norwegian painter created four versions of a composition using paintings and pastels. Due to its prominence this work, in all of its versions, has been the target of thefts and theft attempts. The latest one occurred in 2004, but luckily every version of The Scream is now safely guarded.
1. Mona Lisa
La Gioconda is not only the most renowned recovered painting ever, but probably the world’s most famous one entirely and its fame came mainly from its theft. In 1911 Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece was stolen from the Louvre by Vincenzo Perruggia, an Italian patriot who believed that the Mona Lisa should be in its homeland. Right now, if you want to see this painting with your own eyes you just have to visit the Louvre in Paris, where it is enclosed in a bulletproof glass.
