Matisse and Portinari works stolen in São Paulo library heist

According to officials, the suspects entered the Biblioteca Mário de Andrade on Sunday morning, threatening a security guard and an elderly couple before seizing eight Matisse engravings and at least five works by Portinari. The pieces were part of a joint exhibition with the São Paulo Museum of Modern Art.

In a statement, the São Paulo government reported that one suspect was detained on Monday after what authorities described as “analysis of security cameras that recorded the criminal act.”

Shortly before, investigators located what they identified as the thieves’ escape vehicle. Police noted that both the library and the surrounding city center are equipped with extensive monitoring systems, including facial recognition technology.

The exhibition, titled From Book to Museum, was in its final hours when the thieves, entering and exiting through the main entrance, walked toward a nearby metro station carrying what appeared to be a sack of artworks. Local media published footage allegedly showing the men fleeing the scene.

Officials have not yet released a complete inventory of the missing items. However, Folha de São Paulo reported that a rare Matisse collage created for the limited-edition book Jazz is among the works taken. Art specialists describe the value of the stolen engravings as beyond measure, underscoring the cultural significance of both Matisse, a central figure of twentieth-century art, and Portinari, whose portrayals of Brazilian rural life remain foundational to the country’s Modernist movement.

Earlier, Qazinform News Agency reported that New Zealand authorities had recovered a Fabergé egg locket that a 32-year-old man was alleged to have swallowed while attempting to steal it from a central Auckland jewelry store.