Stolen Matisse artworks recovered by police in Brazil
A man is arrested after eight works by the French artist are found at a home in greater São Paulo.
Eight Henri Matisse illustrations, estimated to be worth $200,000, were recovered in Brazil after being stolen from a São Paulo library. The artworks, part of a Jazz exhibition, were taken during a December 7 heist where two thieves overpowered a security guard and an elderly couple. Three other suspects were arrested in connection with the crime, but five engravings by Brazilian artist Candido Portinari remain missing.
Police in São Paulo suspect these works were sold. João Paulo Linhares de Araujo, 44, arrested on Thursday, is accused of storing the Matisse pieces and possessing a firearm. Laéssio Rodrigues de Oliveira, a prolific art thief, is suspected of planning and directing the theft, having been in custody since April. Another man and a woman were also arrested over the incident.
The stolen Matisse illustrations, created for an art book, and the Portinari engravings were part of a joint exhibition with the São Paulo Museum of Modern Art.
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