Thieves have stolen three paintings by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Paul Cézanne and Henri Matisse worth millions of euros from a museum near Parma, police said on Monday.The burglary took place overnight between March 22 and 23, when intruders forced open the entrance to the Magnani Rocca Foundation, a private museum located about 20 km from the city.The stolen works include “Fish” by Renoir, “Still Life with Cherries” by Cézanne, and “Odalisque on the Terrace” by Matisse. Local media reported that the thieves carried out the operation in under three minutes before fleeing through the museum’s gardens.Founded in 1977, the museum houses the collection of art historian Luigi Magnani, featuring works by masters such as Albrecht Dürer, Peter Paul Rubens, Anthony van Dyck, Francisco Goya and Claude Monet.Authorities suspect an organised group was behind the theft, which was cut short by the alarm system. The museum has not issued a statement and was unavailable for comment as it remains closed on Mondays.The incident follows a string of high-profile art thefts across Europe, including the October heist at the Louvre Museum in Paris, where French crown jewels and other items worth €88 million were stolen.Art expert Claudio Strinati said the stolen works are relatively minor within the artists’ broader portfolios, but warned that such thefts are often linked to extortion attempts. “Art thefts can indeed be carried out for the purpose of ransom,” he said.
