Italian police recover stolen Renoir, Cézanne and Matisse paintings worth millions

Italian authorities have recovered three valuable paintings - a Renoir, a Cézanne, and a Matisse - that were stolen from a private museum near Parma earlier this year, police announced on Friday. The recovered works are "Fish" by Auguste Renoir, "Still Life with Cherries" by Paul Cézanne, and "Odalisque on the Terrace" by Henri Matisse.

Valued at 6 million euros ($7 million), 3 million euros ($3.5 million), and 20,000 euros ($23,000) respectively, the paintings were taken from the Magnani Rocca Foundation, located approximately 12 miles from Parma. The heist occurred on the night of March 22-23, when thieves broke in through the museum's entrance door and stole the artworks in under three minutes before fleeing across the gardens.

Police and local media suggest the perpetrators were part of a well-organized gang. The foundation, established in 1977, houses the collection of art historian Luigi Magnani and includes works by notable artists such as Albrecht Dürer, Peter Paul Rubens, van Dyck, Goya, and Claude Monet. The museum suspects a structured and organized criminal network was behind the theft, which occurred during an alarm interruption.

The case follows a series of high-profile art thefts at major European museums, including the 2023 Louvre robbery in Paris, where French crown jewels and other items worth 88 million euros ($101 million) were stolen.