ROME — In a daring heist, three paintings by the renowned French artists Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Paul Cezanne, and Henri Matisse, valued collectively at approximately $10 million, have been stolen from a museum in northern Italy, as reported by the police on Monday.
The robbery occurred during the night of March 22-23 at the Fondazione Magnani Rocca, located on the outskirts of Parma, according to a statement released by the Carabinieri police.
Intruders gained entry through the main entrance of the building, making off with 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 police disclosed.
Italian public broadcaster Rai has estimated the value of the stolen artwork at 9 million euros, equivalent to $10.34 million; however, this figure has not been officially confirmed by the Carabinieri.
THEFT TOOK LESS THAN THREE MINUTES
The museum, which features a private collection amassed by the late music critic and musicologist Luigi Magnani, noted that the theft was executed in under three minutes.
The Fondazione Magnani Rocca’s collection is also home to masterpieces by Titian, Francisco Goya, Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, Claude Monet, Peter Paul Rubens, and Giorgio Morandi, as listed on its website.
