Thieves recently stole three valuable paintings by Renoir, Cézanne, and Matisse, collectively worth millions of euros, from a museum near Parma in northern Italy, as confirmed by the police on Monday. The burglary occurred during the night of March 22-23 when the perpetrators forcibly entered through the museum’s entrance.
The artworks taken were “Fish” by Auguste Renoir, “Still Life with Cherries” by Paul Cézanne, and “Odalisque on the Terrace” by Henri Matisse. The Magnani Rocca Foundation, a private museum located around 20 kilometers from Parma in the countryside, was the target of the theft. Reports suggest that the thieves swiftly seized the paintings in under three minutes before fleeing through the museum gardens.
The foundation, established in 1977 and home to art collector Luigi Magnani’s renowned collection, features works by artists such as Dürer, Rubens, Van Dyck, Goya, and Monet. Media sources indicated that the heist was likely orchestrated by an organized criminal group and was thwarted by the museum’s alarm system.
Despite the incident, the museum has not issued any official statements regarding the theft, and its offices were closed for comment on Monday. This robbery in Parma follows a series of notable art thefts in major European museums, including a significant case in October where thieves looted jewels and other valuables worth €88 million from the Louvre in Paris.
Art expert Claudio Strinati remarked that the stolen paintings, though by masters, are considered minor works. He noted that while Renoir’s piece is aesthetically pleasing, it does not rank among the foundation’s most significant pieces. Strinati also raised concerns that the heist might lead to a ransom demand, emphasizing that art thefts are sometimes carried out for the purpose of extortion.