Three paintings by Renoir, Cézanne and Matisse were stolen in March from a museum near Parma, in northern Italy, the carabinieri confirmed on Sunday, informs AFP, taken by Agerpres.
Four intruders broke into the villa of the Magnani Rocca Foundation, in Traversetolo, and stole these paintings on the night of Sunday, March 22, towards Monday, March 23, said a spokesman for the carabinieri, confirming the information transmitted by public television RAI.
The thieves forced the main gate and stole three paintings, after which they fled through the museum park.
According to the Italian media, the stolen paintings are “Pisces”, a late work (1917) by Auguste Renoir, “Still Life with Cherries” (1885-1887) by Paul Cézanne and “Odalisque on the Terrace” (1922) by Henri Matisse.
The carabinieri are carrying out an investigation and are exploiting the images filmed by the museum's surveillance cameras, as well as of the houses and shops in the vicinity, the spokesman said.
The Magnani Rocca Foundation houses the collection of the art historian Luigi Magnani (1906-1984), which also includes works by Dürer, Rubens, Van Dyck, Goya, Monet and the Italian artist Giorgio Morandi.
