Solution - Sleeping Gypsy Dream Fragment

by Joseph DeVincentis

Answer: Click here to reveal

This dream fragment consists of squares of color as seen on the round page for Sleeping Gypsy which the meta used to represent the letters A-Z in order. Decoding this dream fragment message spells STOLEN ART HIDDEN IN ART'S EXIF.

The backgrounds for each puzzle are separate images, and each holds a hidden EXIF thumbnail image with a set of 6 jigsaw pieces. Operating system support for viewing these thumbnails is frustratingly inconsistent, though online EXIF viewers such as Jeffrey's Exif Viewer can be used to extract the full images:

The completed jigsaw pieces form letters cut from 6 different paintings, all stolen in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum art theft in Boston on March 18, 1990. In chronological order of creation, these spell the dream fragment answer PERUSE:

  • P - The Storm on the Sea of Galilee by Rembrandt (1633)
  • E - Self-Portrait by Rembrandt (ca. 1634)
  • R - Landscape with an Obelisk by Flinck (1638)
  • U - The Concert by Vermeer (ca. 1664-1666)
  • S - Cortege aux Environs de Florence by Degas (ca. 1857-1860)
  • E - Chez Tortoni by Manet (ca. 1878-1880)