In brief
Police in São Paulo uncovered eight Henri Matisse illustrations after a break‑and‑enter on a library in December 2025. A 44‑year‑old was arrested holding the recovered pieces, three other gang members were previously detained. The artworks, worth about $200,000, were found in a home in São Bernardo do Campo. Five Casa engravings by Portinari remain missing, highlighting the theft’s impact on cultural heritage.
Police recover Matisse artworks in Brazil
Eight Henri Matisse illustrations stolen from a library in São Paulo last December have been recovered by police after a recent raid on a suburban home.
The library, the Biblioteca Mário de Andrade, was targeted by two thieves who overpowered a guard and an elderly couple. They fled through the main entrance on foot carrying the artworks in canvas bags.
Three members of the gang were previously arrested, and a 44‑year‑old man was caught holding the pieces at the home in São Bernardo do Campo. Police suspect he stored the stolen works for the perpetrators and is also charged with illegal firearm possession.
Five engravings by the Brazilian artist Candido Portinari, taken during the same heist, have not yet been recovered. Authorities suspect the missing works may have been sold.
The recovered artworks were part of a limited‑edition book and joint exhibition with the São Paulo Museum of Modern Art. Matisse is renowned as one of the 20th century’s most influential artists, and the value of the stolen pieces is considered incalculable.
