Eight Matisse artworks stolen from library in São Paulo, Brazilian officials say

The work by famous French artist Henri Matisse was among 13 works of art stolen from a public library in Brazil over the weekend, local authorities said.

Two armed robbers entered the Mário de Andrade library in downtown São Paulo on Sunday and allegedly assaulted a security guard and an elderly couple who were visiting the library, BBC News, News themezone’ sister network, reported. One of the suspects has been arrested, authorities said Monday.

Eight works of art by Matisse were taken in the robbery, as well as five works by the Brazilian modernist painter Candido Portinari.

Authorities have not revealed the titles or value of the stolen Matisse pieces, but the five Portinari prints were illustrations from the 1959 book “Menino de Engenho,” according to the São Paulo city hall. It was not immediately clear if any of the stolen works were recovered with the arrest of a suspect.

The artworks were part of a joint exhibition with the São Paulo Museum of Modern Art that highlighted rare books and how modernism took shape in Brazil. The exhibit opened in October and its last day was Sunday, according to the library’s website.

Works by Matisse, a leading figure in 20th century modern art, can sell for millions of dollars. A series of around 60 of his drawings sold for more than $2.5 million at Christie’s auction house in October, according to artnet.

The record price for a Matisse was $80.8 million in 2018 for his “Odalisque Couchée aux magnolias.”

Police said investigators were able to identify one of the two suspects, the BBC reported. That suspect was arrested later Monday, authorities said.

The man was arrested in the center of São Paulo after having been “identified after investigation work and analysis of the security cameras that recorded the criminal act on Sunday,” the Brazilian state government reported in a statement.

On Monday morning, police said they had found the thieves’ getaway car. São Paulo’s security department also said investigations were underway to identify the second suspect.

Brazilian news site G1 aired video apparently showing one of the thieves carrying several of the artworks down the street in broad daylight, then leaving them leaning against a wall next to a pile of trash and fleeing.

The art theft comes almost two months after a group of thieves broke into the Louvre Museum in Parisstealing jewelry worth around $100 million in a matter of minutes.

The notorious robbery renewed attention on security protocols in museums around the world.