Italian authorities have successfully retrieved three valuable paintings by renowned French artists Paul Cézanne, Henri Matisse, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir that were stolen from a museum near Parma in March. Carabinieri officers discovered the artworks in an apartment in Parma and are investigating nine Moldovan individuals in connection with the theft.
The paintings, including Cézanne’s “Tasse et Plat de Cerises,” Renoir’s “Les Poissons,” and Matisse’s “Odalisque sur la Terrasse,” were taken from the Fondazione Magnani Rocca museum in Mamiano di Traversetolo. Experts estimate the combined value of the paintings to exceed €9 million ($14.4 million).
Video footage released by the police shows two masked burglars swiftly entering the museum through a window, seizing the paintings, and making a quick escape in under three minutes. The Fondazione Magnani Rocca establishment houses a private collection curated by the late music critic Luigi Magnani, featuring works by prominent artists such as Titian, Francisco Goya, and Claude Monet.