A backdoor to the Bataclan music venue in Paris bearing artwork by Banksy commemorating the victims of the 2015 terrorist attacks – which had been missing for a year – has finally been recovered by law enforcement in Italy. The door was found at an abandoned farmhouse in central Italy during a joint raid by Italian and French police on Thursday.
“We have recovered the door stolen in the Bataclan with a Banksy work portraying a sad young girl,” an Italian police officer told AFP news agency.
The artwork was left by the elusive street artist on the Bataclan in 2018. The music hall was the worst-hit site in the coordinated November 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris. In total, 130 people were killed, 90 of them in the theater shooting, and a further 413 concertgoers were injured.
In January 2019 the door was cut off by a group of thieves equipped with angle grinders and other hardware. No suspects have been apprehended in the case so far.Banksy’s murals have been repeatedly targeted by thieves, apparently lured by the accessibility of street art and the high value of his work. Pieces by the artist have been sold for several million dollars at various auctions.
One of the most notorious was a print of his 'Girl with a Balloon' mural, which attracted a $1.1 million winning bid at Sotheby's in London, back in 2018. The piece was partially destroyed immediately after it was sold, as the artist had concealed a small shredder within the frame.
