Italian authorities have successfully retrieved 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. The Carabinieri officers discovered the artworks in an apartment in Parma and have initiated an investigation involving nine Moldovan nationals in connection with the theft.
The stolen paintings, including Cezanne’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 estimate the combined value of these artworks to be over €9 million ($14.4 million).
In a swift operation that lasted less than three minutes, burglars captured on video footage entered the museum through a window, removed the paintings from the wall, and swiftly left the building. The Fondazione Magnani Rocca is known for housing a private collection amassed by the late music critic Luigi Magnani, featuring works by renowned artists such as Titian, Francisco Goya, Claude Monet, and Giorgio Morandi.
