Emile Nolde, Christ at Emmaus (1904).
Emile Nolde, Christ at Emmaus (1904).

The morning of March 11 was like any other at Ølstrup Church, near Ringkøbing, Denmark, until someone noticed that a painting by Emil Nolde was missing from its place of pride on the church’s altar. The German-Danish artist, who was married to the daughter of the church’s pastor during, was commissioned to paint Christ at Emmaus (1904) for 340.57 krone [US$321.24]. Now worth an estimated 100 million krone [US$1.8 million], the altarpiece was most likely stolen while the church was open to the public on March 10, as the building has no daytime security and there was no sign of forced entry.