Stolen artworks by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Paul Cézanne, and Henri Matisse worth more than nine million euros have been recovered and returned to a museum in northern Italy.
Thieves hid the high-value pieces inside a cardboard television box following a burglary at the Magnani-Rocca Foundation in the province of Parma.
The recovered items include Renoir's painting Fish, a drawing by Cézanne titled Glass and Plate with Cherries, and an etching by Matisse named Odalisque on the Terrace, Russian news outlet 360.ru reported.
Break-in at the Magnani-Rocca Foundation
Intruders broke into the Magnani-Rocca Foundation on the night of March 23 after entering the museum building through a window. The thieves pulled canvases valued at more than nine million euros off the walls before making their escape through the gallery garden.
Law enforcement officers tracked down the stolen artworks using physical clues left at the scene alongside telephone wiretaps. Nine Moldovan citizens are currently involved in the criminal proceedings, with five of them suspected of organizing the crime.
Famous French artists and museum venue
The Magnani-Rocca Foundation is a celebrated art museum located in the province of Parma, situated within the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. Founded to display prestigious private collections inside a historic villa estate, the institution holds significant holdings of European fine art spanning several centuries.
Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Paul Cézanne, and Henri Matisse rank among the most influential figures in French art history. Renoir emerged as a master of the Impressionist movement, celebrated for his rich color palettes and depictions of light.
Cézanne worked as a Post-Impressionist whose structural approach bridged nineteenth-century art with early twentieth-century Cubism. Matisse led the Fauvist movement and gained international renown for his expressive color, fluid line drawings, and fine etchings.
Police confirmed that the recovered paintings have been safely returned to the museum collection.
