Episode 94: The Rodin Thief - Art Mysteries, Episode 6

After a famous sculpture by Auguste Rodin goes missing, and then dramatically reappears, a Chilean filmmaker sets out to uncover the motives of the mysterious art student responsible for the theft.

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Transcript

Martina: It was the morning of June 17, 2005 and Cristóbal Valenzuela was having a hard time focusing on anything besides the television. There was a breaking news story on the national network in Chile: a brazen art heist had taken place in Santiago's Museum of Fine Arts.

Reportero: Un valioso busto del escultor francés Auguste Rodin ha sido robado del Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes de Santiago…

Cristóbal: La noche anterior se habían robado el Torso de Adele, una estatua del escultor francés Auguste Rodin. El Museo Rodin de Francia la había prestado al Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes para una gran exposición. Era la primera vez que el robo de una obra tan cara ocurría en Chile.

Martina: At the time Cristóbal was a film student and like many Chileans back in 2005, he was fascinated by the art heist. That day police frantically searched for the missing sculpture, a piece by Auguste Rodin called the Torso of Adele. It was worth more than one million dollars at the time, according to news reports.

Cristóbal: Era una estatua pequeña de bronce, suave, de color negro, de unos cuarenta y cinco centímetros y que pesaba unos veinte kilos. La policía decía que cabía… en una mochila.

Martina: The whole country was in a state of shock. Everybody was talking about the mysterious thief, or ladrón. The case even reached France, where the Rodin Museum in Paris was demanding an explanation from Chile.

Cristóbal: Hasta el gobierno se metió en el caso. Hubo muchas teorías… Una era que el responsable era un ladrón profesional de arte que iba a vender la estatua en el mercado negro; o que la iba a usar para pedir una cantidad exorbitante de dinero.

Martina: But suddenly, just as quickly and dramatically as the robbery had happened, the police announced that the mystery…was solved. The Torso of Adele had been recovered.

Cristóbal: Todas las teorías eran incorrectas. No era un ladrón profesional, ni quiso vender la estatua. Era un chico que iba a mi universidad y lo habían arrestado.

Martina: The student who had taken the sculpture was named Emilio Onfray, and he now faced up to 15 years in prison. Cristóbal wondered: Why would an art student steal a piece of art? Why weren’t the police releasing more details? What were his motives? None of it made any sense.

Cristóbal: Había demasiadas preguntas sin respuesta. Yo sentía que debía hacer algo para resolver este misterio.

Martina: Bienvenidos and welcome to a special season of the Duolingo Spanish Podcast. I’m Martina Castro, and this season we’re digging into some of the greatest mysteries of art and literature in the Spanish-speaking world.

As usual, the storyteller will be using intermediate Spanish and I’ll be chiming in for context in English. If you miss something, you can always skip back and listen again. We also offer full transcripts at podcast.duolingo.com.

Today, we travel to Chile…to find out the true motive behind the heist of the valuable Rodin sculpture.

Martina: The art heist had caused a national scandal. The stolen statue was one of many pieces in Chile’s first exhibition of Auguste Rodin, who’s considered the father of modern sculpture. But, when the student accused of stealing the statue went to court, the case got even stranger.

Cristóbal: El estudiante asumió su responsabilidad. Fue castigado a trabajar un año en una biblioteca en una cárcel y a pedirles disculpas a los gobiernos de Chile y Francia. Sin embargo, yo nunca pude entender lo más importante: ¿Por qué hizo lo que hizo?

Martina: Although the media treated the trial as an open-and-shut case, Emilio’s defense baffled some people — including Cristóbal.

Cristóbal: En su defensa, él dijo que era una performance artística, no un crimen.

Martina: Cristóbal was fascinated by the idea that Emilio saw himself as a performance artist, not a criminal. Since Cristóbal was studying film, he decided he’d make a documentary to understand the real motive behind this art heist. But, of course, to do that, Cristobal would have to talk with the mastermind himself — the art student, Emilio.

Cristóbal: Yo quería conocerlo para hablar de sus motivaciones, pero después del caso, Emilio no quiso hablar con nadie y desapareció. Estaba cansado de la presión de los medios de comunicación y, además, él se cambió de universidad.

Martina: Cristóbal began to hunt Emilio down. He looked for him online, but had no luck.

Cristóbal: No lo encontré en redes sociales. Lo busqué y lo busqué, pero no encontré nada en la web, así que fui a nuestra universidad. Hablé con varias personas y les pregunté si se acordaban del chico que había robado la estatua.

Martina: Cristóbal kept digging. By this point, six years had passed since the robbery. But finally, he got a lucky break. Asking around on campus, his brother managed to get a phone number. That’s how Cristóbal finally got to talk to the mysterious Emilio.

Cristóbal: Emilio respondió la llamada y, para mi sorpresa, aceptó hablar conmigo. Le dije que yo no era periodista, sino un director de documentales y que habíamos estudiado en la misma universidad. Le dije que quería conocerlo para hablar de sus motivaciones, pero nunca imaginé que aceptaría.

Martina: Surprisingly, Emilio agreed to meet him.

Cristóbal: Él aceptó verme aunque dijo que no tenía muchas ganas de hablar sobre la escultura de Rodin. Ya habían pasado seis años del robo, pero mi curiosidad seguía igual.

Martina: The two men agreed to meet at a bar in Santiago. Cristóbal was very nervous. He didn’t know what to expect from Emilio or if he would agree to participate in a documentary about the heist.

Cristóbal: Nos vimos muy temprano en un bar. Fuimos los primeros allí y Emilio pidió un par de cervezas. Le hablé sobre mi idea de hacer un documental. Emilio escuchó en silencio y luego dijo que iba a pensarlo.

Martina: Emilio and Cristóbal ended up hitting it off. Emilio explained that he had always been interested in art and studied it for three years at the same university in Santiago where Cristobal had studied.

Cristóbal: Me dijo que empezó a interesarse en el arte por el valor que tiene, por cómo se organiza en museos y lo fácil que puede desaparecer. Esas no eran las palabras de un ladrón profesional.

Martina: Cristóbal listened, enthralled, as Emilio opened up about the heist for the first time in years. After serving his sentence, Emilio had started his own career as an artist, doing multimedia and performance art. By the end of their conversation, Emilio had come around: he agreed to appear in Cristóbal’s documentary. Here’s Emilio:

Emilio: Yo nunca quise contar mi historia a pesar de que se publicaron muchas cosas falsas sobre mí. Con Cristóbal fue diferente porque sentí que teníamos cosas en común. Hubo una conexión. Sabía que él podía documentar bien mi historia, así que acepté el proyecto.

Martina: Let's go back to June 16, 2005, the night of the robbery. That evening, Emilio went to the Santiago Museum of Fine Arts with some friends. Back then, Emilio was a 20-year-old art student who was obsessed with the concept of art. Mainly, he was obsessed with how valuable art was… and how certain works of art became even more valuable when they were stolen, or disappeared...

Emilio: Yo era estudiante y tenía muchas ideas locas sobre el arte que escribía en mis cuadernos. Recuerdo que una vez escribí: “El mundo está lleno de obras de arte, ¿qué ocurriría si ese arte desaparece?”.

Martina: Emilio wasn’t in the museum that night to see the new exhibit featuring Rodin. He was attending a free art opening held after hours, hosted by one of his professors.

Emilio: Me obsesionaba la idea de que las obras de arte podían desaparecer y crear un shock.

Martina: At one point during the evening, Emilio had to go to the bathroom, which was in the basement. So, he went down the museum’s marble staircase and when he reached the bathroom, he noticed a dark room next to it, with an open entryway.

Emilio: Entré sin saber qué había en ese cuarto. Estaba muy oscuro y no veía nada, nada, nada. Estaba caminando y casi choco con algo… era una escultura.

Martina: Emilio had walked straight into the Rodin exhibition, the first show of the master French sculptor in Chile. He had heard of Rodin…but what he didn’t know was that he was standing before one of the exhibit’s most prized pieces.

Emilio: Era el cuerpo de una mujer. No sabía cuál era la obra que tenía entre las manos.

Martina: It was indeed the Torso of Adele.

Emilio: La escultura estaba fría. Era el cuerpo de una mujer doblado hacia atrás.

Martina: Emilio looked at the bronze sculpture and remembered his theory that a work of art can become even more famous after it disappears…

Emilio: Y ahí pensé: “¿Lo hago?”.

Martina: Emilio wondered, what if this statue disappeared? Would everyone notice and talk about it?

Emilio: Nadie piensa en lo fácil que el arte puede desaparecer. ¿Qué pasa si una obra es robada, o es sacada de contexto? Así que lo hice, me llevé la escultura.

Martina: Emilio quickly stuffed the statue in his backpack. For a second, he got scared that an alarm would go off. But nothing happened.

Emilio: Yo no sentía que estaba robando algo, no me sentía un ladrón. Era un artista que señalaba el valor del arte al hacerlo desaparecer. Yo estaba haciendo una acción de arte.

Martina: Emilio went upstairs back to the crowded gallery, full of college students. He had a quick drink, but soon slipped outside and met up with a friend near the museum.

Emilio: Fui a hablar con él y le mostré el interior de mi mochila.

Martina: The statue was inside…

Emilio: ¡Me dijo que estaba loco!

Martina: The two friends examined the artwork and saw Rodin’s signature. They felt a thrill. Then, they went to the park to drink a box of wine. And they talked about art until dawn.

Emilio: Terminamos de beber el vino y conversamos sobre el arte y la vida, sobre lo que acababa de hacer. Luego llamé a un taxi y llegué a mi casa con la escultura en la mochila. Puse el Torso de Adele sobre el escritorio de mi cuarto.

Martina: Emilio looked at the statue again, admiring the magnificent piece of art. He even started drawing it, until he fell asleep. But by the next day…everything was different.

Emilio: Vi el Torso de Adele que todavía estaba sobre mi escritorio. Encendí la televisión y escuché las noticias de última hora.

Reportero: La estatua de Rodin ha desaparecido, la policía se encuentra haciendo bloques de búsqueda…

Martina: The newscaster announced that a famous statue had been stolen from the Museum of Fine Arts! The Chilean police, the museum, the Rodin Foundation in Paris — everyone was investigating what had happened to the Torso of Adele. It was a national sensation. Emilio began to realize that the work of art he had stolen…was already very famous, and very valuable! But more than that, he was upset by how the media was portraying him, like he was a common thief out to make money.

Emilio: Tuve miedo al ver las noticias. ¿Y si nadie entendía mis motivaciones? Yo no era un ladrón; no quería vender la escultura.

Martina: Since the Rodin had been an international loan, officials in the government and the National Art Museum worried the robbery would damage Chile’s reputation. Emilio looked again at the statue sitting on his desk. He decided there was only one thing to do.

Emilio: Decidí que lo mejor era ir a la policía, y confesar.

Martina: Emilio was very nervous. First, he told police that he had found the statue in a park near the museum…

Emilio: Oculté el verdadero motivo. En ese momento, sentí que estaba en un problema muy grave, porque pensé que nadie iba a entender.

Martina: Emilio considered the theft of the statue “a performance.” He believed he was making a statement about art, and its value. But he realized that his message was not coming across to the general public. He thought the police would understand even less.

Emilio: Una cosa es el mundo del arte y otra muy diferente, el mundo de la ley. Tuve miedo, y pensé que me iban a enviar a prisión.

Martina: Later, with the help of his attorney, Emilio confessed and admitted that he had committed the robbery. That’s when he explained to the authorities that the statue’s disappearance had all been part of an artistic performance.

Emilio: Les dije: "No fue un robo y aquí está el proyecto que lo confirma”. Les enseñe mis ideas sobre el arte escritas en un documento. La policía no entendía. Ellos esperaban la confesión de un crimen y pensaban que yo iba a venderla o a intercambiarla por otra cosa en el mercado negro.

Martina: In Chile, a high-profile theft like this could lead to a sentence of up to 15 years in prison. Instead, the judge saw that Emilio was a young student, with a clean record. So she gave him a lighter sentence: one year of community service working as a prison librarian. But even after his community service ended, Emilio was already feeling a different kind of punishment in his life.

Emilio: Mi cara estaba en todos los diarios y canales de televisión en Chile. La opinión pública no entendió bien el tema.

Martina: Emilio didn’t want to be known as a thief. Many journalists interviewed him, but he felt they misrepresented his side of the story.

Emilio: El tiempo pasaba y muchos periodistas querían hablar conmigo, incluso me ofrecieron escribir un libro.

Martina: After he finished his sentence, Emilio restarted his life. He returned to studying art, this time at a new university. He wanted to begin his own art career and distance himself from the robbery.

Emilio: Terminé mi carrera en la universidad y comencé a trabajar como asistente de artista. Tiempo después, cuando empecé a exhibir mis obras, Cristóbal me encontró.

Martina: After Cristóbal had heard Emilio’s whole side of the story…Cristóbal was convinced that Emilio was not a common thief, but a complex and bold young artist who was trying to teach the world a lesson about art. Cristóbal decided the focus of his documentary had to change.

Cristóbal: Después de tanto investigar, me di cuenta que mi documental no era sobre el robo de la escultura de Rodin. Era más bien una historia policial con un poco de comedia y un toque de absurdo. Era una historia para que las personas debatieran sobre el arte.

Martina: In fact, after the case, thousands of people filed through the Museum of Fine Arts to see the rest of the Rodin collection in Chile. The robbery had made the Rodin exhibit the most popular art exhibit in the history of the country.

Cristóbal: Queríamos tener la oportunidad de explicar que, para él, el gran crimen de la estatua de Rodin no fue un robo, sino una performance artística. Y que además logró que Chile y el resto del mundo hablaran sobre la estatua y la exposición.

Martina: Cristóbal got to work on his film, hoping to tell the world Emilio’s side of the story. He recorded interviews and traveled to Paris to gather more footage. He even tried to talk with the Rodin Foundation about their side of the story. But the foundation refused after they read his script.

Cristóbal: Luego de leer el guión, me dijeron: “Su documental es una justificación del crimen. Una justificación del robo de arte. No participaremos”.

Martina: Cristóbal looked for everything that had been published in the press, both in Chile and around the world. He gathered archival newsreels. And finally, in 2017, the film was finished. It premiered at the Sanfic film festival, the most prestigious festival in Chile.

Cristóbal: Era un fin de semana y la sala estaba llena. Entre los invitados estaban muchas personas de la industria cinematográfica. Yo estaba muy nervioso.

Martina: A few seconds before the movie started, Emilio showed up, wearing an elegant black suit and red tie. Cristóbal was nervous about how everyone might react to the film.

Cristóbal: Emilio y yo entramos juntos a la sala. Yo busqué mi asiento. Bajaron las luces y la película comenzó. Ya la había visto tantas veces que no sabía si tendría éxito o no.

Martina: Cristóbal relaxed when he heard loud laughter ripple through the theater. After an hour and a half, the documentary was over. And the crowd of 200 people cheered, giving him a standing ovation. Cristóbal was proud of his first film. And Emilio says he felt the movie changed how people viewed him.

Emilio: Antes del documental, la gente no entendía mis motivaciones o por qué realmente lo hice. Ahora, cada vez que presentamos el documental, la gente me dice: “Oye, qué interesante lo que hiciste. ¡Qué creativo!”.

Martina: To this day, the Rodin Foundation takes issue with Cristóbal’s film. To them, the missing statue was not a piece of performance art — it was a robbery, plain and simple. Despite the criticism, the movie has remained a success around the world, provoking interesting debates about art, and what makes certain works of art important.

Cristóbal: El documental viajó por casi cincuenta festivales y ganó quince premios. Los jurados de festivales de cine y el público en general decían estar de acuerdo con Emilio. Según ellos, sí era una performance, era arte y no un robo.

Martina: Cristóbal Valenzuela is a filmmaker based in Santiago de Chile. Emilio Fabres is a visual artist also living in Santiago. You can see “Robar a Rodin” online anywhere in the world. This story was produced by "Ado" or Antonio Díaz Oliva, a Chilean writer and translator based in Chicago.

We would love to know what you thought of this episode! You can write us an email at podcast@duolingo.com and call and leave us a voicemail or audio message on WhatsApp, at +1-703-953-93-69. Don’t forget to say your name and where you’re from!

Martina: Here’s the message we got from Allie:

Allie: Hi there. My name is Allie and I live in Ontario, Canada. I'm a big fan of Duolingo. I've been learning Spanish for a while now — or trying to. And I just listened to my first podcast. It's the one with Mercedes, the woman from Venezuela, and it was amazing. The story itself is fabulous and the way the Spanish is presented is great because even if you don't completely understand every part of it you get the gist of it and then what the English person, Martina, adds, just kind of confirms it. Well done. Thank you, bye-bye.

Martina: Thank you so much for calling in Allie! We are so happy that our podcast is helping you practice your Spanish! And that’s it for this special season of the Duolingo Spanish podcast. You can find the audio and a transcript of each episode at podcast.duolingo.com. You can also follow us on Apple Podcasts or your favorite listening app, so you never miss an episode.

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The Duolingo Spanish podcast is produced by Duolingo and Adonde Media. Our producers this season were Tali Goldman, Lorena Galliot, Caro Rolando, and Antonio Diaz Oliva. Our managing editor is David Alandete. Our senior editor is Laura Isensee. Our production manager is Román Frontini. Our assistant producer is Caro Rolando. Mixing was done by Andrés Fechtenholz, Daniel Murcia, and Mauricio Mendoza. Our mastering engineer and sound designer is Antonio Romero. Our sound supervisor is Martin Cruz. I’m your host and executive producer, Martina Castro. ¡Gracias por escuchar!

Credits

This episode was produced by Duolingo and Adonde Media.