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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. When was Breitwieser born?

2. When did Vincenzo Peruggia steal the Mona Lisa?

3. When the Madeleine de France was stolen, how long had it hung in a museum?

4. Before stealing the Madeleine, where did Breitwieser and Kleinklaus steal a folding fan and two tobacco boxes?

5. From where Breitwieser and Kelinklaus lived, how many countries were less than a day's drive away?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why did Breitwieser give up on a theft of a knife in May 1996 and then return later to get the knife?

2. Who began to believe many museum theft in Switzerland were linked?

3. How was Breitwieser able to steal a painting from the European Fine Art Fair?

4. After works were stolen, what were the three options that thieves usually pursued?

5. Who was Bernard Darties, and who did he conclude were responsible for some recent art crimes in France?

6. What painting did Breitwieser steal at a Sotheby's estate auction and how did he take it?

7. What stone figurines did Picasso have stolen from the Louvre, and why did he return them?

8. What became Breitwieser's calling card for his thefts?

9. What was Breitwieser's motive for stealing?

10. What is Stendhal syndrome?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Roland Meier, a Swiss police inspector, was assigned to interrogate Breitwieser after he was caught. What techniques did Meier use to get Breitwieser to confess?

Essay Topic 2

An allusion is a figure of speech that does not directly refer to a person, place, or thing. What are some allusions in The Art Thief? Why might it be difficult to decipher an allusion just by the context of a passage in a book? How do the allusions Finkel uses help readers’ understanding of people, events, or concepts in the book?

Essay Topic 3

Idioms are words that have a figurative, rather than a literal meaning. How are idioms used in The Art Thief when relating conversations? How do idioms help create word pictures and mental images for readers in a concise manner? How do idioms help readers understand people, emotions, events, or ideas?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 937 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample