Italian police recover stolen Cézanne, Renoir and Matisse paintings worth over 9 million in Parma

Italian police recovered three stolen paintings by Paul Cézanne, Henri Matisse and Pierre-Auguste Renoir worth over €9 million from an apartment in Parma on Friday, according to multiple reports.
The works—Cézanne’s *Still Life with Cherries* (1885–1887), Renoir’s *The Fishes* (1917) and Matisse’s *Odalisque on the Terrace* (1922)—were stolen in March from the Fondazione Magnani Rocca, a private museum near Parma. Security footage released by police showed two masked thieves entering through a window, removing the paintings from the French gallery on the villa’s upper floor, and fleeing in under three minutes .
Authorities arrested five suspects, all Moldovan nationals residing in the Parma area, with nine others under investigation. The paintings were found hidden in a box inside a dark wardrobe during searches conducted by Italy’s specialized art squad, the Carabinieri for the Protection of Cultural Heritage . The foundation previously stated the thieves acted in an organized manner and could have taken more works if not for the immediate activation of alarms and the response of on-site security, Carabinieri and a private guard firm .
The estimated values of the recovered works are €6 million for Cézanne’s *Still Life with Cherries*, €3 million for Renoir’s *The Fishes*, and €20,000 for Matisse’s *Odalisque on the Terrace* . The theft occurred in the night of March 22–23, with the foundation confirming the burglars forced entry through a door .
In a separate case, Brazilian police recovered eight stolen works by Matisse from a house in the suburbs of São Paulo on Thursday. The pieces, part of Matisse’s *Jazz* series, were stolen in December from the Mario de Andrade Library in São Paulo alongside five works by Brazilian artist Cândido Portinari, which remain missing. The recovered Matisse works are valued at approximately $200,000 . Italian and Brazilian authorities have stated the two art thefts are not connected .
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