Thieves attempt to steal $1.4M Monet painting in botched museum raid

Two men attempted to steal a prized Claude Monet painting from a museum in the Netherlands, though the robbery was foiled and the suspects fled empty-handed, according to Dutch police.

Gunshots were fired during the botched raid at the Zaans Museum in Zaandam, just north of Amsterdam, though nobody was injured in the incident, a police statement confirmed.

The oil painting in question, Monet’s “The Voorzaan and the Westerhem,” is currently being inspected for damage, the museum said over email.

“The Voorzaan and the Westerhem” pictured in 2015, after the Zaans Museum purchased it for almost $1.4 million. Credit: Valerie Kuypers/AFP/Getty Images

“We are relieved to say that nobody got hurt and that they were unable to steal anything,” the museum’s acting director Marieke Verweij told CNN via email, adding that staff had been “very shocked” by the incident.

“We are currently investigating if the painting has been damaged (in) the incident, meaning we are unable to put it on display at the moment,” Verweij said.

Monet painted the river scene on a trip to Zaandam in 1871. It shows the view from the jetty of a hotel where he stayed with his wife and son for four months. Zaandam proved to be a source of inspiration for Monet, with the French artist creating 25 paintings and nine sketches of the city, according to the museum.