Italian police report a major art theft at the Magnani Rocca Foundation villa near the city of Parma, with paintings by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Paul Cézanne, and Henri Matisse worth millions of euros stolen. Four masked men entered the museum on March 22 and made off with “Les Poissons” by Renoir, “Still Life with Cherries” by Cézanne, and “Odalisque on the Terrace” by Matisse. According to Italian media, the gang was in and out within three minutes, interrupted only by the museum’s alarm system, which prevented them from stealing more artworks.

The foundation described the group as “structured and organized,” suggesting they intended to take more items had the alarms not gone off and police not been called. The thieves escaped by climbing over a fence, as reported by regional broadcaster TGR, which first broke the news. The estimated combined value of the stolen paintings is €9 million (£7.8 million), with Renoir’s “Les Poissons” alone valued at €6 million, marking this as one of the most significant art thefts in Italy in recent years.

Renoir, a leading figure in the Impressionist movement, completed the oil-on-canvas “Les Poissons” around 1917. Cézanne’s work, from around 1890, is one of several cherry-themed still-lifes by the post-Impressionist painter, but it is rare for its use of watercolor, a medium he only embraced late in his life. Matisse’s “Odalisque on the Terrace,” painted in 1922, depicts two figures—one reclining in the sun and another holding a violin.

The theft is under investigation by Italy’s Carabinieri and the Cultural Heritage Protection Unit of Bologna. News of the heist was made public only on Sunday. The Magnani Rocca Foundation was established in 1984 following the death of composer and art collector Luigi Magnani at his family home. This incident follows the brazen daylight robbery of priceless jewels from the Louvre in Paris last October, highlighting ongoing security challenges for cultural institutions.

Source: www.bbc.com