Italian authorities announced on Friday that three valuable paintings by renowned French artists Paul Cézanne, Henri Matisse, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir, which were stolen from a museum near Parma in March, have been successfully recovered. The Carabinieri officers from Italy’s cultural heritage protection unit discovered the stolen artworks in an apartment in Parma, leading to the investigation of nine Moldovan individuals in connection with the theft.
The paintings, namely 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 during the night of March 22-23. Experts valued the artworks at over €9 million ($14.4 million).
A video released by the police showcased the swift theft, where two masked burglars entered through a window, swiftly removed the paintings from the wall, and exited within three minutes. The Fondazione Magnani Rocca is home to a private collection curated by the late music critic Luigi Magnani, featuring works by prominent artists such as Titian, Francisco Goya, Claude Monet, and others.