Eight stolen Matisse prints recovered in raid near Sao Paulo

Brazilian authorities have recovered eight prints by French artist Henri Matisse that were stolen from a Sao Paulo library in December 2025. The works were found during a raid on an apartment in São Bernardo do Campo, a city on the outskirts of Sao Paulo.

Police said the recovered collection is valued at more than 1 million reais, approximately $193,000. One man was arrested at the scene. According to investigators, he was holding the prints on behalf of another individual who had been taken into custody in April in connection with a separate art theft case.

The recovery marks significant progress in an investigation that began when two intruders broke into the Mário de Andrade library in Sao Paulo. A total of 13 artworks and historical items were stolen in that incident. Five works by Brazilian artist Cândido Portinari remain missing.

The recovered Matisse prints are titled "Le Clown," "Le Cirque," "Monsieur Loyal," "Cauchemar de L'Eléphant Blanc," "Le Codomas," "La Nageuse Dans L'Aquarium," "L'Avaleur de Sabres," and "Le Cowboy." They were originally created for "Jazz," an art book by Matisse, who lived from 1869 to 1954 and is regarded as one of the most significant figures of the expressive colorist movement.

The Brazilian recovery comes in the same week that Italian police announced they had found another Matisse work during a separate operation.