Paintings by Renoir, Cézanne, and Matisse valued at millions were stolen in a heist from a museum near the Italian city of Parma, police say.
Four masked men entered the Magnani Rocca Foundation villa on March 22, making off with Les Poissons by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Still Life with Cherries by Paul Cézanne, and Odalisque on the Terrace by Henri Matisse.
The gang was in and out in just three minutes, and was only interrupted by the museum's alarm system, which prevented them from stealing more paintings.
This museum heist follows a similar recent trend, highlighted by the brazen daylight robbery of jewels from the Louvre in Paris last October.
According to media, the thieves broke through the main door of the Villa dei Capolavori and seized the artworks from the French Room on the first floor. The foundation reported that the gang appeared structured and organised, suggesting they had planned to steal more had it not been for the triggering of the alarms and the police response.
The criminals fled by climbing over a fence, and the incident's total worth was estimated around €9 million (£7.8 million), with Les Poissons alone appraised at €6 million. This makes it one of the most significant art thefts in Italy in recent years.
Renoir, a leading figure in the Impressionist movement, created Les Poissons circa 1917. The Cézanne piece, completed around 1890, is among several cherry-themed still-life paintings he crafted, while the Matisse work from 1922 portrays two figures in a serene outdoor setting.
The investigation is currently led by Italy's Carabinieri and the Cultural Heritage Protection Unit of Bologna, and news of the incident was disclosed to the public only recently. The Magnani Rocca Foundation was established in 1984 in the family home of composer and art collector Luigi Magnani.
