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The Spiderman of Paris Movie: Unveiling the Greatest Art Heist in Paris History

Vjeran Tomic, the mastermind behind one of the most infamous museum heists in modern history, is now set to share his remarkable story with the world through an upcoming Netflix movie. Born in Paris to Bosnian immigrant parents, Tomic’s journey into a life of crime began at a young age and gradually escalated into high-stakes art theft. In 2010, he orchestrated the audacious robbery of the Paris Museum of Modern Art, a fortress of culture and one of the city’s most heavily guarded institutions.

As a troubled youth, Tomic sought solace within the hallowed halls of museums, particularly drawn to the works of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist painters. His dream was to become a painter himself, but financial constraints forced him to turn to more lucrative pursuits, ultimately leading him down the path of a thief. Starting with luxury homes and apartments, Tomic eventually discovered a knack for pilfering art from private collectors, a skill that would propel him to his most daring heist yet.

Tomic’s dubious collaboration with an art collector named Corvez presented him with an enticing offer: 50,000 euros for each painting stolen from the Museum of Modern Art in Paris. This tantalizing proposal became the catalyst for his audacious plan to retire once and for all.

After meticulously studying the museum’s security and posing as a homeless man seeking refuge by one of its windows, Tomic uncovered two critical vulnerabilities:
1. The museum’s sophisticated alarm system had been deactivated.
2. The screws on the museum’s large windows could be effortlessly removed, as they were oriented outward rather than inward.

In the eerie silence of a cold Paris night at 3 AM, Tomic executed his plan with precision. He surreptitiously infiltrated the museum, moved stealthily from gallery to gallery, and removed the coveted artworks from their frames and positions on the walls. Transporting his extensive haul of canvases from the museum required two trips, but when the dust settled, he had made off with over 120 million euros worth of priceless art.

The true extent of the heist was only realized the following morning when the Paris police were summoned to the museum. They discovered that five cherished paintings had vanished without a trace:

• “Still Life With Candlestick” by Leger (1922)
• Henri Matisse’s “La Pastorale” (1906)
• “Pigeon with Peas,” by Picasso (1911)
• “Olive Tree Near l’Estaque,” by Braque (1906)
• “Woman with Fan” by Modigliani (1919)

Tomic managed to evade capture until 2011 when he was apprehended following another residential burglary. It was during this time that he confessed to his involvement in the museum heist.

Shockingly, Corvez, the unscrupulous art dealer who had commissioned the theft, had failed to deliver the full promised sum of 250,000 euros to Tomic. He had secretly handed the stolen paintings over to another dealer who controversially claimed to have destroyed the masterpieces.

During his court trial, Tomic displayed a remarkable level of confidence and pride in his audacious crime. He was ultimately sentenced to eight years in prison. Now, the captivating tale of that fateful night is being brought to life in a Netflix documentary, “Vjeran Tomic: The Spider Man of Paris,” where he narrates the events in vivid detail from his own perspective.

The one sobering aspect of this captivating story is the fate of the stolen artworks, which remain missing to this day. Nonetheless, there is hope that these masterpieces may surface in a private collection at some point in the future, allowing the world to once again appreciate their beauty.