Armed thieves steal eight Henri Matisse engravings and five Candido Portinari works from a Sao Paulo library exhibition, police investigate
SAO PAULO: Eight engravings by French master Henri Matisse were stolen from a library in Brazil’s largest city.
The Sao Paulo city government confirmed the armed robbery at the Mario de Andrade Library on Sunday.
Two armed men carried out the theft, according to local news reports.
The thieves also took five works by renowned Brazilian artist Candido Portinari.
Authorities have not disclosed the estimated value of the stolen artworks.
The pieces were part of a modern art exhibition titled “From the Book to the Museum”.
The exhibition highlighted a collaboration between the library and the Museum of Modern Art of Sao Paulo.
It was scheduled to close on the same day as the robbery.
The Sao Paulo mayor’s office stated law enforcement was on the scene gathering evidence.
The library is equipped with security cameras, which are part of the investigation.
This art heist follows a major theft at the Louvre museum in Paris nearly two months ago.
In that incident, thieves stole jewellery valued at around USD 100 million within minutes. – AFP