Italian Police Find Stolen Cezanne, Renoir and Matisse Paintings in Parma Apartment
PARMA, August 16 (Saudi Arabia Breaking News) — Italian cultural heritage police found three paintings by Paul Cezanne, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Henri Matisse in a Parma apartment months after the works were stolen from a nearby museum.
The recovered paintings 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”).
The works were taken from the Fondazione Magnani Rocca in Mamiano di Traversetolo, near Parma, during the night of March 22–23. Art experts estimated their combined value at more than €9 million ($10.4 million).
Carabinieri officers from Italy’s cultural heritage protection unit recovered the paintings. The AGI news agency reported that nine Moldovan nationals had been placed under investigation in connection with the theft.
Police also released video showing two masked burglars entering the museum through a window, removing the three paintings from a wall and leaving the building. The operation lasted less than three minutes.
The video does not establish that the masked individuals are among the nine people under investigation. The information provided did not indicate that any of the nine had been arrested, charged or convicted.
The Fondazione Magnani Rocca houses a private collection assembled by music critic Luigi Magnani. Its holdings include works by Titian, Francisco Goya, Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, Claude Monet, Peter Paul Rubens and Giorgio Morandi.
Source: Reuters
