Italy recovers Renoir, Cezanne and Matisse works stolen from museum
The three paintings, worth over US$10 million, had been stolen from a museum in Italy in under three minutes.
· CNA · JoinRead a summary of this article on FAST.
Get bite-sized news via a new
cards interface. Give it a try.
Click here to return to FAST Tap here to return to FAST
FAST
ROME: Italian police have recovered three paintings by French masters Paul Cezanne, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Henri Matisse that were stolen from a museum near the northern city of Parma in March, officials said on Friday (Aug 14).
Carabinieri officers from Italy's cultural heritage protection unit found the works of art in an apartment in Parma, AGI news agency reported, adding that nine Moldovan nationals had been placed under investigation over the theft.
The paintings were taken from the Fondazione Magnani Rocca museum in Mamiano di Traversetolo, near Parma, during the night of Mar 22 to Mar 23. Art experts said their estimated value exceeded €9 million (US$10.4 million).
The recovered works are Cezanne's Tasse et Plat de Cerises (Cup and Plate of Cherries), Renoir's Les Poissons (The Fish) and Matisse's Odalisque sur la Terrasse (Odalisque on the Terrace).
Police on Friday released a video of the theft, showing two masked burglars entering via a window, grabbing the three paintings off the wall and then immediately exiting the building, in an operation that took less than three minutes.
The Fondazione Magnani Rocca houses a private collection assembled by the late music critic Luigi Magnani, including works by Titian, Francisco Goya, Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, Claude Monet, Peter Paul Rubens and Giorgio Morandi.
Sign up for our newsletters
Get our pick of top stories and thought-provoking articles in your inbox
Get the CNA app
Stay updated with notifications for breaking news and our best stories
Get WhatsApp alerts
Join our channel for the top reads for the day on your preferred chat app