An estimated $10 million worth of paintings were stolen in under three minutes from the private Magnani Rocca Foundation on March 22 in Parma, Italy, during the middle of the night, according to Italian news media.
Founded in the 1970s, The Magnani Rocca Foundation was named after its chief benefactor and art collector Luigi Magnani and has been open to the public since 1990. It’s one of the most prominent art museum collections in all of Europe, showcasing a plethora of classical and contemporary artworks from established artists, including Claude Monet, Vittore Carpaccio and Giorgio Morandi.
In the recent incident, all three paintings were stolen from the first floor of the museum.
The thieves stole “Les Poissons” by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, an oil on canvas depiction of three fish close together on a table. The painting features a unique array of color compositions. The estimated value for the artwork is €6 million, or $7 million.
Another painting that was stolen is “Still Life With Cherries” by Paul Cézanne, a pencil and watercolor piece of a small table with a bowl of cherries on it.
The third painting, “Odalisque on the Terrance” by Henri Matisse, an aquatint piece, depicts two figures: one on the left basking in the sun and another on the right holding a violin. The entire estimated value for all three paintings amounts to at least $10 million, according to Time Magazine.
Despite limited information on the investigation, it is suspected to be four thieves who carried out the heist, arranging themselves into a “structured and organized” crime according to police. Their attempts to steal additional artworks were quickly stopped, as authorities intervened just four minutes after the alarms were triggered.
It was reported that a fourth piece of art was abandoned at the scene. According to the Italian media outlet Sky TG24, the thieves made their escape as they fled through the museum gardens and escaped by climbing over a fence.
The museum had remained closed the next day as news regarding the artwork theft was not released until several days later in local media broadcasts, in the hopes of the criminals turning themselves in before facing any source of publicity.
So far, none of the artwork has been recovered. High profile museum heists have become more frequent in recent months.
Five months ago, the Louvre Museum experienced a major heist involving precious metals and jewels totaling roughly €88 million, or $102 million.
Christopher Marinello, CEO and founder of Art Recovery International, stated, “The Louvre theft was supposed to be a wakeup call to museums everywhere, especially small museums,” emphasizing the need for museums to maintain strict security and preservation measures to protect cultural works.
