A painting by Vincent van Gogh on loan for an exhibition has been stolen in a raid overnight, a Dutch museum has said.
The Singer Laren museum, based in the city of Laren in the Netherlands, said “Spring Garden” by the Dutch master was taken in the early hours of Monday.
Burglars forced their way through the glass front door of the building at 3.15am, the Independent reported.
The museum is currently closed to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
Museum director Evert van Os said the institution that houses the collection of American couple William and Anna Singer is “angry, shocked, sad” at the theft of the painting.
The value of the work, which was on loan from the Groninger Museum in the northern Dutch city of Groningen, was not immediately known.
Police are investigating the theft.
The painting shows a rectory garden in the town of Nuenen. At the time of its creation, van Gogh was living at the rectory with his parents.
Before the closure, the museum was hosting an exhibition titled “Mirror of the Soul” with works by artists ranging from Toorop to Mondrian, in cooperation with Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum.
The museum’s collection has a focus on modernism such as neo-impressionism, pointillism, expressionism and cubism.
