Brazilian authorities announced on Monday that they had arrested one of two men suspected of stealing eight works by French painter Henri Matisse from a library in the city of Sao Paulo on Sunday. It was also possible to find the getaway car, reports TASR with reference to the AFP agency.
The man was detained in downtown Sao Paulo after he was identified following an investigation and analysis of security camera footagewhich recorded the crime, the government of the Brazilian state of the same name said in a statement. The theft was committed by a pair of armed men who also took away five works by the Brazilian painter Candido Portinari. During the ambush, they overpowered the policeman and a couple of visitors.
Authorities have not yet released which specific artworks were stolen or their value. They were part of the modern art exhibition entitled From the Book to the Museum, which was supposed to end on Sunday at the Mário de Andrade Library.
Brazilian news website G1 posted a video that appears to capture one of the thieves walking down the street in broad daylight with some of the stolen works. Then he leans them against the wall next to a pile of trash and runs away. According to Folha de S. Paulo newspaper, among the stolen works are collages from Matisse’s large-format book Jazz, published in 1947, of which only 300 copies exist worldwide.
“Their cultural and artistic value is incalculable,” they quote the art critic Tadeu Chiarello’s newspaper. Works by Matisse (1869-1954), a major figure in 20th century modern art, sell for millions of dollars. A series of about 60 of his drawings sold for more than $2.5 million at Christie’s auction house in October, according to artnet. Matisse’s Odalisque Couchee aux Magnolias (Odalisque Lying Among Magnolias) from 1926 sold for a record $80.8 million in 2018.
