Italian authorities announced the successful retrieval of three stolen paintings by renowned French artists Paul Cézanne, Henri Matisse, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir, which were taken from a museum near Parma in March. The Carabinieri officers discovered the artworks in an apartment in Parma and initiated an investigation involving nine individuals from Moldova in connection to the theft.
The stolen paintings, namely Cezanne’s “Tasse et Plat de Cerises,” Renoir’s “Les Poissons,” and Matisse’s “Odalisque sur la Terrasse,” were estimated to be valued at over €9 million ($14.4 million). Surveillance footage released by the police depicted two masked burglars entering the museum through a window, swiftly removing the paintings from the wall, and fleeing the scene within three minutes.
The Fondazione Magnani Rocca, where the paintings were stolen from, is renowned for housing a private collection curated by the late music critic Luigi Magnani. The collection includes works by prominent artists such as Titian, Francisco Goya, Claude Monet, and Giorgio Morandi.
