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 of Italy’s cultural heritage protection unit discovered the artworks in an apartment in Parma, with nine Moldovan nationals now under investigation for 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 during the night of March 22-23. The estimated value of the stolen artworks was over €9 million ($14.4 million), according to art experts.
In a swift operation captured on video, two masked burglars entered the museum through a window, swiftly removed the paintings from the wall, and made a quick exit in less than three minutes. The Fondazione Magnani Rocca is renowned for its private collection, curated by the late music critic Luigi Magnani, which includes works by prominent artists such as Titian, Francisco Goya, Claude Monet, and Giorgio Morandi.
The recovery of these stolen masterpieces marks a significant victory in combating art theft and preserving cultural heritage.