Italy recovers stolen Renoir, Cézanne, Matisse paintings

Italian police recovered three stolen paintings by Renoir, Cézanne and Matisse worth millions of euros, authorities said on August 14, 2026. The works were taken in a nighttime heist from the Magnani Rocca Foundation near Parma.

The Carabinieri art recovery squad said prosecutors ordered the searches, but gave no details; the investigation is ongoing.

On the night of March 22-23, 2026, four masked thieves forced open the entrance door of the private museum, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from Parma. Broadcaster TGR reported the robbers removed the paintings in under three minutes and escaped across the museum gardens, scaling a fence before police and security officers could catch them despite a triggered alarm.

The recovered works are “Fish” by Auguste Renoir, valued at 3 million euros ($3.5 million); “Still Life with Cherries” by Paul Cézanne, valued at 6 million euros ($7 million); and “Odalisque on the Terrace” by Henri Matisse, valued at 20,000 euros ($23,000). Renoir completed “Fish” around 1917; Cézanne’s watercolor “Still Life with Cherries” dates to about 1890 and is rare because the artist used watercolor only in his final years, according to the foundation.

Founded in 1977, the Magnani Rocca Foundation houses the collection of art historian and composer Luigi Magnani, including works by Dürer, Rubens, Van Dyck, Goya and Monet. The museum believes a structured and organized gang carried out the theft.