A midnight art theft at the Magnani Rocca Foundation near Parma has shocked the art world, with thieves making off with three Impressionist masterpieces worth an estimated €9 million.
In one of the most audacious art thefts Italy has seen in years, a gang of masked thieves broke into the Magnani Rocca Foundation in Mamiano di Traversetolo, near Parma, in the early hours of 23 March. They stole three works by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Paul Cézanne and Henri Matisse. The entire operation took less than three minutes.
Four masked men entered the villa of the Magnani Rocca Foundation, near Parma in northern Italy, and made off with the artworks overnight last Sunday into Monday, a Carabinieri spokesman confirmed to AFP. The thieves forced the entrance door to gain access to a room on the first floor before escaping across the museum’s gardens.
The three stolen works — among the few pieces by these artists held in Italian public collections — are Les Poissons (Fish) by Renoir, Still Life with Cherries by Cézanne, and Odalisque on the Terrace by Matisse. Their combined estimated value stands at €9 million, with the Renoir alone put at €6 million, making this one of the most significant art thefts in Italy in recent years.
The stolen works
Les Poissons, completed around 1917, is an oil on canvas measuring 40 x 51.5 cm. It is one of the rare examples of Renoir’s work permanently held in a collection open to the public in Italy. Renoir, one of the foremost painters of the French Impressionist movement, produced the work late in his career.
Cézanne’s Still Life with Cherries, made around 1890 with pencil and watercolour on white paper, measures 38 by 49 centimetres and depicts a simple interior: a table on which a cup and a plate of cherries are arranged. What makes it particularly rare is its medium; the foundation notes that Cézanne only embraced watercolour during the final years of his life, making such works exceptional within his output.
Matisse’s Odalisque on the Terrace, painted in 1922, depicts two figures, one reclining in the sun while another holds a violin. According to preliminary reports, the criminals had planned to take an additional painting but were probably scared off when an alarm was triggered during the intrusion.
A precisely planned operation
Italian authorities are in little doubt about the nature of the crime. The heist was most likely carefully planned, given the value of the works and their recognition on the international market. The Carabinieri’s Cultural Heritage Protection Unit, Italy’s specialist force for recovering stolen art, described it as a “structured and organised” operation. Police are reviewing video-surveillance footage from both the museum and neighbouring businesses.
Thefts of this kind pose difficulties even at the next stage, related to the possible fencing or clandestine export of the stolen works. Highly recognisable Impressionist masterpieces are notoriously difficult to sell on the open market and often disappear into private hands or are used as collateral in criminal transactions.
News of the heist was only made public on Sunday, 29 March.
The Foundation and its Collection
The Magnani Rocca Foundation, known as the Villa dei Capolavori (Villa of Masterpieces), houses the art collection of critic, musicologist and writer Luigi Magnani (1906–1984), encompassing works by Titian, Dürer, Rubens, Goya, Canova, Monet and the most significant collection of works by Giorgio Morandi. The foundation was established following Magnani’s death in 1984 in his family home, located 20 kilometres from Parma.
Surrounded by a Romantic Park with exotic plants, monumental trees and famous white and coloured peacocks — emblems of the Symbolist movement — the Villa retains the charm of a great collector’s residence. At the time of the theft, the foundation was hosting a major exhibition on Symbolism in Italy, featuring more than 140 works and running until 28 June.
