Masked thieves snatched three paintings by Renoir, Cézanne and Matisse worth more than $10 million in a heist from an Italian museum that took less than three minutes.
At least four burglars burst their way through the front door of the Magnani Rocca Foundation, a private museum in the Italian countryside outside Palma, sometime overnight between March 22 and 23, authorities said.
The gang tried to steal a fourth painting — but abandoned it when they set off the museum’s security alarm, according to local reports, which did not identify the other artwork.
Henri Matisse’s painting “Odalisque on the Terrace” depicts two women and a violin on a terrace overlooking the sea. via REUTERSThe brazen thieves took less than three minutes before escaping through the museum’s gardens and over a fence, Italian outlet Il Messaggero reported.
The stolen paintings — “Fish” by Auguste Renoir, “Still Life with Cherries” by Paul Cézanne, and “Odalisque on the Terrace” by Henri Matisse – are estimated to be worth more than $10.3 million.
However, that appears to be an understatement, according to Forbes, which said the Renoir alone is worth at least $7 million.
The museum believes an organized gang is behind the heist, which came just five months after a gang famously made off with $100 million worth of France’s crown jewels from the Louvre in Paris.
“Cup and Plate of Cherries” by Paul Cezanne, one of three artworks stolen from the Magnani Rocca Foundation. via REUTERSThe crooks are likely to send a ransom demand for the paintings’ safe return, according to Italian art expert Claudio Strinati.
“Art thefts can indeed be carried out for the purpose of extortion,” he said.
Luckily, although the stolen works are by major artists, they are not among their important works, Strinati stressed.
Painting titled “Fish” by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, depicting three fish laid out. via REUTERS“Renoir’s painting, for example, is very beautiful, but, within the context of the foundation as a whole, it isn’t among the most important works,” he said.
Italy’s national police force, the Carabinieri, is probing the brazen ordeal.
The museum hosts the collection of the art critic Luigi Magnani, as well as works by Dürer, Rubens, Van Dyck, Goya, and Monet.
The crooks are likely to send a ransom demand for the paintings’ safe return, according to Italian art expert Claudio Strinati. AP
Italy’s national police force, the Carabinieri, is probing the brazen ordeal. APThe museum didn’t post anything about the theft on its website, and staff were not available for comment because it was closed on Monday.
The Italian snatch-and-grab follows a spate of similar high-profile crimes at major Europeans museums. Most famously, chainsaw-wielding thieves made off with $100 million worth of France’s crown jewels in a daring heist from the Louvre in Paris last October.
With Post wires
