Thieves have stolen a collection of almost 500 gold coins from the Celtic Museum in Manching, Bavaria. The 2,000-year-old treasure was the museum's highlight. It is still unclear how the perpetrators were able to switch off the alarm systems. The police described the burglary as having been executed in a classic way, as in "a bad movie," while Bavaria's culture minister called it a "disaster."

The Green Vault in Dresden's Royal Palace is one of the most famous treasure chambers of Europe. Early in the morning of November 25, 2019, burglars broke into the museum and stole three sets of jewelry from the early 18th century. The works made up of diamond, ruby and emerald gems are seen as "priceless." German newspaper Bild called it "probably the biggest art theft since World War II."

The world's most famous portrait, Leonardo da Vinci's "Mona Lisa," was stolen in 1911. A young Italian named Vincenzo Peruggia took the painting from the Louvre in Paris. Dressed as a member of the museum staff, he was able to hide the relatively small painting under his work coat. It reappeared in 1913 after an art dealer alerted the police.

Rembrandt's portrait of "Jacques III de Gheyn" wasn't stolen from Britain's Dulwich Picture Gallery just once, but four times, namely in 1966, 1973, 1981 and 1986. That's why it came to be nicknamed the "Takeaway Rembrandt." Fortunately the painting has been recovered after each theft.

The burglary of 13 paintings from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum stirred international attention in 1990. Two men disguised as policemen broke into the building and removed the paintings, among them Edouard Manet's "Chez Tortoni" and Jan Vermeer's "Concert" (pictured). The empty picture frames are still hanging on the walls.

In 1991, a man managed to lock himself into a bathroom in the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam — unnoticed. With the help of a warden, he removed a total of 20 paintings, among them the Dutch painter's "Self-Portrait with Easel." However, police were able to recover the works from the getaway car just one hour later. The thieves were caught a few months later.

"Madonna of the Yarnwinder" by Leonardo da Vinci, valued at €70 million ($72 million), was stolen from a Scottish castle in 2003. Two thieves who entered an exhibition as tourists overpowered the security guard at Drumlanrig Castle and fled with the precious artwork. It remained lost for years until it was discovered during a raid in Glasgow in 2007.

Two paintings by expressionist Edvard Munch, "The Scream" and "Madonna," were stolen in Oslo in 2004. Two armed robbers invaded the Munch Museum and, witnessed by numerous visitors, ripped the paintings from the wall. Police were able to retrieve the two famous paintings. However, "The Scream" was damaged so badly during the incident that it could never be fully restored.

In 2008, armed thieves pilfered four paintings amounting to a total value of 180 million Swiss francs (€183 million, $189 million) from the collection Bührle in Zurich. "The Boy in the Red Vest" by Paul Cézanne, "Ludovic Lepic and His Daughters" by Edgar Degas, "Blossoming Chestnut Branches" by Vincent van Gogh, and "Poppy Field Near Vétheuil" by Claude Monet (pictured) all resurfaced later on.

In March 2017, a huge gold coin weighing 100 kilos was stolen from Berlin's Bode Museum. Just its sheer material value alone amounts to four million dollars. It is believed that the thieves found their way into the building through a window. The "Big Maple Leaf" coin originated in Canada. It is 53 cm high and 3 cm thick. On the front side, it bears an image of Queen Elizabeth II.

Until 1874 French artists only had one way to present their art to a wide audience: by submitting works to the "Salon de Paris." A jury would then decide which pieces were approved, and which weren't. After having their work continually rejected, a group of 30 artists - including Renoir, Monet, Cézanne and Sisley - broke away and organized their own exhibition.

The group organized eight independent exhibitions up to 1886, where many artworks were sold. The young artists hoped to free themselves and their work from France's state-controlled art market. The exhibitions were major events in the rapidly-changing metropolis of Paris, then the center of the art world.

The impressionists were landscape painters. To transfer their impressions as true as possible to canvas and to exactly replicate natural light conditions, they painted directly in nature. One popular spot and motif for these young painters - including Claude Monet - was Fontainebleau forest, south of Paris.

The artists developed an entirely new understanding and concept of art. In a departure from classicism, they treated color and light with greater importance than line and symmetry. In his painting "The Peach Glass" from 1866, Monet explores the various effects of fruit: in a glass jar, on a marble tabletop and in the reflection.

Although Édouard Manet's works were never included in the popular impressionist exhibitions, his influence on the artists - especially on Monet - is indisputable. Manet befriended the impressionists but didn't include himself in their ranks. Eight years older than Monet, he created a number of motifs that the younger artist used as models.

Considered the young Monet's most significant work, "The Luncheon" was a scandal. It was more than two meters high, a format traditionally reserved for historical painting. And it depicted an everyday scene that included Monet's girlfriend Camille and their illegitimate son - an unapologetic affront in the bourgeois France of 1869.

At first glance, smoke is the only thing one can discern here. Monet's "Saint-Lazare Station" shows industrial change in the 19th century. Rather than using mythological or religious motifs, impressionists sourced their subjects from their immediate environment. Their motifs center on nature and everyday life.

Not all impressionist painters focused exclusively on landscapes or the industrial revolution in big cities. Auguste Renoir's paintings showed life in high society and the privileged existence of the upper class: ladies in orchestra pits and theater boxes, or - here - simply strolling gracefully with an umbrella in the garden.

The importance of the subject diminishes further with Monet over the years - instead he emphasizes the atmosphere of a particular scene. The Saint-Lazare train station seems to almost disappear in this painting of 1877. Instead, fog and smoke red and blue hues dominate Monet's impression of the station building.

The Städel Museum was the first in Germany to purchase French impressionist art and has built up an impressive collection since 1899. The current exhibition displays around 100 works from museums around the world, including Pissaro's "Rue de Gisors." The exhibition runs until June 21, 2015.