Art Thieves Steal Paintings By Renoir, Matisse From Italian Museum

ROME (AP) — Thieves stole three paintings by Renoir, Cézanne and Matisse worth millions of euros from a museum near the northern Italian city of Parma, police said Monday.

Police said that the robbery took place on the night of March 22-23, when thieves forced open the entrance door.

The three stolen paintings include Auguste Renoir’s “Fish”, Paul Cézanne’s “Still Life with Cherries” and Henri Matisse’s “Oda on a Terrace”.

The Magnani Rocca Foundation, a private museum, is located in the heart of the countryside 20 kilometers (12 miles) from Parma.

According to local media reports, the thieves managed to seize the paintings in less than three minutes and escape from the museum gardens.

Founded in 1977, the foundation hosts works by Dürer, Rubens, Van Dyck, Goya and Monet, as well as the collection of art historian Luigi Magnani.

According to local media reports, the museum believes a structured and organized gang was responsible for the theft, which was interrupted by the alarm.

The museum did not post a statement about the theft on its website and was unavailable for comment because it was closed on Monday.

The crime follows a series of high-profile robberies at major European museums, including a major incident in October when thieves stole 88 million euros ($101 million) worth of jewels and other items from the Louvre in Paris.

Italian art expert Claudio Strinati said that the three stolen paintings were small works of three masters.

“Renoir’s painting, for example, is very beautiful, but it is not among the most important works in the context of the foundation as a whole,” he told the Associated Press.

Strinati also said that a ransom demand may follow the robbery.

“Art thefts can indeed be committed for the purpose of extortion,” he said.