Three paintings by Renoir, Cézanne and Matisse worth millions of euros that were stolen earlier this year in a three-minute heist were recovered by Italian police. Italian Carabinieri's art recovery squad said in a statement on Friday that the paintings were discovered during searches ordered by prosecutors, but no details were given. The investigation is ongoing.
The recovered works are Paul Cézanne's "Tasse et Plat de Cerises" ("Cup and Plate of Cherries"), Pierre-Auguste Renoir's "Les Poissons" ("The Fish") and Henri Matisse's "Odalisque sur la Terrasse" ("Odalisque on the Terrace"). Art experts have valued the three paintings at more than $10 million. The three paintings were taken during a heist at the Magnani Rocca Foundation, a private museum about 12 miles from the northern city of Parma, on the night of March 22-23.
Police said thieves forced open the entrance door. Police on Friday released a video of the theft, showing two masked burglars entering through a window, grabbing the three paintings off the wall, and then immediately exiting the building. Local media reported that the thieves took the paintings in less than three minutes and escaped across the museum gardens.
Established in 1977, the foundation hosts the collection of art historian Luigi Magnani and also includes works by Dürer, Rubens, Van Dyck, Goya and Monet. The museum believes a structured and organized gang was responsible for the theft, which the alarm interrupted, local media reported. The crime followed a series of high-profile heists at major European museums, including the theft of French crown jewels and other items from the Louvre in Paris.
The "Odalisque sur la Terrasse" was not the only Matisse painting recovered recently. Eight illustrations by the French artist that were stolen from a library in São Paulo, Brazil, last year were recovered on Thursday. The works, with an estimated value of about $200,000, were found in a home in the town of São Bernardo do Campo, a suburb of the city, CBS News partner BBC News reported.
They were stolen from the Biblioteca Mario de Andrade in December 2025. Four people have been arrested in connection with the crime.
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