Stolen Renoir, Cézanne and Matisse were probably uninsured, market sources say

by Jemima Denham and George Abbott

April 2 – Three paintings by French masters Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Paul Cézanne and Henri Matisse stolen from a museum in northern Italy last week were probably not insured, according to market sources.

A fine arts insurer told Reuters publication The Insurer that the paintings, estimated to be worth around $10 million, had previously been denied coverage due to cost.

The robbery reportedly lasted just three minutes from the time the thieves forced their way through the main entrance of the Fondazione Magnani Rocca near Parma on the night of March 22.

Police said they stole Cézanne’s “Tasse et Plat de Cerises”, Renoir’s “Les Poissons” and Matisse’s “Odalisque sur la Terrasse”.

A source said they were surprised that the thieves chose works of relatively low value from the museum’s permanent collections, which include works by Monet, Dürer and Rubens.

Market sources say it is not uncommon for commercial insurance similar to stolen paintings to be unavailable. In a high-profile robbery last October, thieves stole crown jewels worth 88 million euros from the Louvre Museum in Paris.

As in Italy, the government was expected to compensate the museum as no commercial policy applied for jewels that were part of the permanent collection.

Most losses occur while works are being transported for storage or temporary exhibitions, and this tends to be the focus of commercial art insurance.

For permanent collections, the cost to individual museums or galleries of insuring against the risk of significant theft or damage is prohibitive. For museums or heritage sites of national importance, the state often acts as a de facto insurer.

This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to the text.