Leaving the Paddock (La Sortie Du Desage<\/em>)<\/summary>\n Artist: Edgar Degas (Paris, 1834-1917)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Material\/Medium: Watercolor and pencil on paper<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dimensions: 10.5×16 cm<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Accession Number: 3.1.0.94<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Location: Unknown<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n![\"An](\"https:\/\/ac.nau.edu\/artcrime\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Leaving-the-Paddock-2-1024x649.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n\n\n![\"Infographic](\"https:\/\/ac.nau.edu\/artcrime\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Isabella-Stewart-Gardner-Museum-Heist-1.png\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\nWhy forge this painting?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nCombined, the five Edgar Degas sketches stolen, including Leaving the Paddock<\/em>, were only worth around $100,000. If this worth is split evenly between the five sketches, the Leaving the Paddock <\/em>would be worth around $20,000. I would argue, though, that because of the infamous heist, the sketch would be worth more now. The motive is simple: money. Art forgery is a hard crime to convict, especially if it cannot be proven with unreasonable doubt. Even then, the punishment is generally only a few years in prison, if it even makes it to trial in the first place. In theory, this would be an easy $200,000 reward. The museum, exposing the forgery or not, gets more headlines, and really would profit off it, so who is actually the victim here?
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nHow to Forge the Perfect Crime<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n![\"Photo](\"https:\/\/ac.nau.edu\/artcrime\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Early-Stamp.webp\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"Photo](\"https:\/\/ac.nau.edu\/artcrime\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Degas-Estate-Stamp.webp\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\nThe Stamp<\/summary>\n The official description of Leaving the Paddock <\/em>says that his signature is stamped in red ink. Thanks to some Degas experts, there are several photos of this red ink stamp that his estate used on some of his works, including Leaving the Paddock<\/em>, it seems. They also note, on the back of some of his work, a second \u201cAt\u00e9lier Degas\u201d stamp in black ink was used. These authentication stamps were used by Edgar Degas estate after his death, and it seems his signature is nowhere else on the original painting. A stamp signature is only a secondary supporting detail of authenticity, but I’m detail oriented.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\nWatercolor<\/summary>\nThe convenient part of forging Leaving the Paddock<\/em> in particular, is that it is watercolor. Watercolor is really hard for experts to authenticate, since watercolor only leaves small amounts of paint on the canvas. Experts would need to use forensic testing to see the sketch underneath the watercolor and carbon date the paper. I\u2019ve worked with watercolor in the past, and it doesn\u2019t behave exactly how you want it to, but I can see from the photo of Leaving the Paddock<\/em>, where more or less water would need to be applied. It isn\u2019t hard to find watercolor paints and brushes from the nineteenth century to use. It only took one quick Internet search for me to find places to buy these antique supplies. The paints would help pass any chemical analysis done or spectroscopic analysis to look at the makeup of the paints and the colors. <\/p>\n\n\n\nWhile the official description of the painting doesn\u2019t say it, my own look at the painting makes me think the white highlights were done with white pastel chalk. Degas did use pastels in other works, so I don\u2019t believe it’s a huge jump to say he used pastel in Leaving the Paddock. <\/em>This attention to detail could save the authenticity test. I would need to get the accurate aged pastel chalk as well to use.\u00a0
<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\nPaper<\/summary>\nGetting the paper would not be too difficult, this painting was done in the nineteenth century. I would just need to find a book printed during that time period that has a blank page, and the dimensions wouldn\u2019t be hard to find. Considering this \u201cpainting\u201d has been in the back of another frame for years, it wouldn\u2019t be suspicious if the paper was a little more worn than when Leaving the Paddock <\/em>first went missing. <\/em><\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\nSketch<\/summary>\nThe real work would come down to the sketch itself. Thankfully, Leaving the Paddock<\/em>, is not a super difficult piece to mimic. This painting shows a lot of the sketch layer and has the appearance of being unfinished. It might take a few tries, but it wouldn\u2019t be impossible to create a hasty sketch layer before the watercolor. <\/p>\n\n\n\nImitating Edgar Degas\u2019 style of sketches would take some time to learn. Degas had a good understanding of bodies and movement, and this reflected in his work, even with a minimal detail sketch like Leaving the Paddock<\/em>. I would need to study not just his sketches, but develop my own skill as well, to mimic the ease of which Degas sketched.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\nProvenance<\/summary>\nTo fake provenance and ownership history following the heist, it\u2019s easiest to keep it as simple as possible and minimize the trail. There are no current tips as to where Leaving the Paddock<\/em> is, but when people die, their belongings tend to get searched through. One suspect, Robert \u2018Bobby\u2019 Gentile, a Connecticut gangster and suspected mafia member, died in 2021. His possessions have probably been either given to living family, or put in an estate sale. Personally, if he was not involved in the heist, I would feel bad ruining a dead man\u2019s name even more, but I\u2019m not an actual criminal forging an art piece here.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThat aside, I am putting up a huge hypothetical here, Gentile dies, his belongings are scattered, but of course, not before they are searched for any of the missing artworks that some claimed he had. A distant cousin claims to have ended up with a random art print from Gentile that has Leaving the Paddock<\/em>, hiding on the back of the frame. It\u2019s not too outlandish to think that if the FBI had searched, that they missed it entirely. Leaving the Paddock<\/em> is barely bigger than a postcard and easy to hide behind a frame. It wouldn\u2019t be unlikely that if Gentile, however he ended up with Leaving the Paddock<\/em>, would realize it\u2019s too hot to sell and hide it.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\nSince there is a short and lack of paper trail, the law would not be able to track who initially sold the painting or had it after it was stolen, and all the other missing pieces of art couldn\u2019t be tracked down. The FBI already suspected that Robert \u2018Bobby\u2019 Gentile was involved in the heist, so they would probably be happy to have a name. I am assuming that after the authentication of Leaving the Paddock<\/em>, the FBI would be passive about the case again.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nDegas’ Style<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n![\"Sketch](\"https:\/\/ac.nau.edu\/artcrime\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/edgar_degas_bolting_horse-1.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"Sketches](\"https:\/\/ac.nau.edu\/artcrime\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Jockeys-1.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"Sketches](\"https:\/\/ac.nau.edu\/artcrime\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/degas_2001_12_0-1.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"Chalk](\"https:\/\/ac.nau.edu\/artcrime\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/restricted-1.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/ac.nau.edu\/artcrime\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/e8b6693bc11129fe9d71109d69bf9d1d-1.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nThe Results (Hopefully!)
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The crime is committed perfectly. The painting is authenticated and given to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, and they award me $200,000 for the return. I would assume initial authentication would be paid by the museum, as they do have $10 million to offer as a reward. To avoid any more scrutiny, I would be happy to take the $200,000 and drop off the radar following the return of the piece. In this case, I will just continue to hope that the original Leaving the Paddock<\/em> never reappears, if it does, they have some questions to answer. Perhaps, Gentile\u2019s old suspected connections would take notice of my work, and offer me some job opportunities in the art crime market. In the end, this crime would serve as a great way of networking. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nWorks Cited<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cascone, Sarah. \u201cRobert \u2018Bobby\u2019 Gentile, Long Fingered by the FBI as a Suspect in the 1990 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Heist, Dies at 85\u201d. https:\/\/news.artnet.com\/art-world-archives\/gardner-heist-suspect-robert-gentile-2012506. 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Degas Experts. https:\/\/degasexperts.com\/index.php<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nFletcher, Shelley, and Pia Desantis. \u201cDegas: The Search for His Technique Continues.\u201d The Burlington Magazine<\/em>, vol. 131, no. 1033, 1989, pp. 256\u201365. JSTOR<\/em>, http:\/\/www.jstor.org\/stable\/883834.<\/p>\n\n\n\nGrowe, Bernd. Edgar Degas, 1834-1917.<\/em> Taschen. 2001.<\/p>\n\n\n\nIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum. https:\/\/www.gardnermuseum.org\/experience\/collection\/14028<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nWhy forge this painting?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Combined, the five Edgar Degas sketches stolen, including Leaving the Paddock<\/em>, were only worth around $100,000. If this worth is split evenly between the five sketches, the Leaving the Paddock <\/em>would be worth around $20,000. I would argue, though, that because of the infamous heist, the sketch would be worth more now. The motive is simple: money. Art forgery is a hard crime to convict, especially if it cannot be proven with unreasonable doubt. Even then, the punishment is generally only a few years in prison, if it even makes it to trial in the first place. In theory, this would be an easy $200,000 reward. The museum, exposing the forgery or not, gets more headlines, and really would profit off it, so who is actually the victim here? How to Forge the Perfect Crime<\/p>\n\n\n\n The official description of Leaving the Paddock <\/em>says that his signature is stamped in red ink. Thanks to some Degas experts, there are several photos of this red ink stamp that his estate used on some of his works, including Leaving the Paddock<\/em>, it seems. They also note, on the back of some of his work, a second \u201cAt\u00e9lier Degas\u201d stamp in black ink was used. These authentication stamps were used by Edgar Degas estate after his death, and it seems his signature is nowhere else on the original painting. A stamp signature is only a secondary supporting detail of authenticity, but I’m detail oriented.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n The convenient part of forging Leaving the Paddock<\/em> in particular, is that it is watercolor. Watercolor is really hard for experts to authenticate, since watercolor only leaves small amounts of paint on the canvas. Experts would need to use forensic testing to see the sketch underneath the watercolor and carbon date the paper. I\u2019ve worked with watercolor in the past, and it doesn\u2019t behave exactly how you want it to, but I can see from the photo of Leaving the Paddock<\/em>, where more or less water would need to be applied. It isn\u2019t hard to find watercolor paints and brushes from the nineteenth century to use. It only took one quick Internet search for me to find places to buy these antique supplies. The paints would help pass any chemical analysis done or spectroscopic analysis to look at the makeup of the paints and the colors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n While the official description of the painting doesn\u2019t say it, my own look at the painting makes me think the white highlights were done with white pastel chalk. Degas did use pastels in other works, so I don\u2019t believe it’s a huge jump to say he used pastel in Leaving the Paddock. <\/em>This attention to detail could save the authenticity test. I would need to get the accurate aged pastel chalk as well to use.\u00a0 Getting the paper would not be too difficult, this painting was done in the nineteenth century. I would just need to find a book printed during that time period that has a blank page, and the dimensions wouldn\u2019t be hard to find. Considering this \u201cpainting\u201d has been in the back of another frame for years, it wouldn\u2019t be suspicious if the paper was a little more worn than when Leaving the Paddock <\/em>first went missing. <\/em><\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n The real work would come down to the sketch itself. Thankfully, Leaving the Paddock<\/em>, is not a super difficult piece to mimic. This painting shows a lot of the sketch layer and has the appearance of being unfinished. It might take a few tries, but it wouldn\u2019t be impossible to create a hasty sketch layer before the watercolor. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Imitating Edgar Degas\u2019 style of sketches would take some time to learn. Degas had a good understanding of bodies and movement, and this reflected in his work, even with a minimal detail sketch like Leaving the Paddock<\/em>. I would need to study not just his sketches, but develop my own skill as well, to mimic the ease of which Degas sketched.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n To fake provenance and ownership history following the heist, it\u2019s easiest to keep it as simple as possible and minimize the trail. There are no current tips as to where Leaving the Paddock<\/em> is, but when people die, their belongings tend to get searched through. One suspect, Robert \u2018Bobby\u2019 Gentile, a Connecticut gangster and suspected mafia member, died in 2021. His possessions have probably been either given to living family, or put in an estate sale. Personally, if he was not involved in the heist, I would feel bad ruining a dead man\u2019s name even more, but I\u2019m not an actual criminal forging an art piece here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That aside, I am putting up a huge hypothetical here, Gentile dies, his belongings are scattered, but of course, not before they are searched for any of the missing artworks that some claimed he had. A distant cousin claims to have ended up with a random art print from Gentile that has Leaving the Paddock<\/em>, hiding on the back of the frame. It\u2019s not too outlandish to think that if the FBI had searched, that they missed it entirely. Leaving the Paddock<\/em> is barely bigger than a postcard and easy to hide behind a frame. It wouldn\u2019t be unlikely that if Gentile, however he ended up with Leaving the Paddock<\/em>, would realize it\u2019s too hot to sell and hide it.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since there is a short and lack of paper trail, the law would not be able to track who initially sold the painting or had it after it was stolen, and all the other missing pieces of art couldn\u2019t be tracked down. The FBI already suspected that Robert \u2018Bobby\u2019 Gentile was involved in the heist, so they would probably be happy to have a name. I am assuming that after the authentication of Leaving the Paddock<\/em>, the FBI would be passive about the case again.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n Degas’ Style<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Results (Hopefully!) The crime is committed perfectly. The painting is authenticated and given to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, and they award me $200,000 for the return. I would assume initial authentication would be paid by the museum, as they do have $10 million to offer as a reward. To avoid any more scrutiny, I would be happy to take the $200,000 and drop off the radar following the return of the piece. In this case, I will just continue to hope that the original Leaving the Paddock<\/em> never reappears, if it does, they have some questions to answer. Perhaps, Gentile\u2019s old suspected connections would take notice of my work, and offer me some job opportunities in the art crime market. In the end, this crime would serve as a great way of networking. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Works Cited<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cascone, Sarah. \u201cRobert \u2018Bobby\u2019 Gentile, Long Fingered by the FBI as a Suspect in the 1990 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Heist, Dies at 85\u201d. https:\/\/news.artnet.com\/art-world-archives\/gardner-heist-suspect-robert-gentile-2012506. 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Degas Experts. https:\/\/degasexperts.com\/index.php<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Fletcher, Shelley, and Pia Desantis. \u201cDegas: The Search for His Technique Continues.\u201d The Burlington Magazine<\/em>, vol. 131, no. 1033, 1989, pp. 256\u201365. JSTOR<\/em>, http:\/\/www.jstor.org\/stable\/883834.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Growe, Bernd. Edgar Degas, 1834-1917.<\/em> Taschen. 2001.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. https:\/\/www.gardnermuseum.org\/experience\/collection\/14028<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Watercolor<\/summary>\n
<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\nPaper<\/summary>\n
Sketch<\/summary>\n
Provenance<\/summary>\n
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