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 close to Parma earlier this year. The Carabinieri officers discovered the artworks in an apartment in Parma and have initiated an investigation involving nine Moldovan individuals in connection with the theft.
The stolen 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 these artworks exceeds €9 million ($14.4 million), as confirmed by art experts.
In a swift operation captured on video, two masked burglars entered the museum through a window, swiftly removed the three paintings from the wall, and made a rapid exit within three minutes. The Fondazione Magnani Rocca houses a private collection curated by the late music critic Luigi Magnani, featuring works by prominent artists like Titian, Francisco Goya, Claude Monet, and Giorgio Morandi.
This successful recovery marks a significant milestone in the restoration of these valuable artworks to their rightful place in the museum’s collection.