In Brazil, eight valuable engravings by Henri Matisse (Le Cateau-Cambrésis, 1869 – Cimiez, 1954) from the Jazz series—stolen in December 2025 from the Mário de Andrade Library in São Paulo—have been recovered by the São Paulo State Civil Police. The works were found last Thursday, August 13, in the city of São Bernardo do Campo, on the outskirts of São Paulo, during an operation conducted by the 1st Precinct of the Special Corps for the Suppression of Organized Crime (Cerco), which had taken charge of the investigation into the theft. One suspect was arrested. The recovery came after months of investigative work by the Civil Police.
The theft occurred on December 7, 2025, when two armed men broke into the Mário de Andrade Library and stole the works, which were part of the exhibition *Do livro ao museu: MAM São Paulo e a Biblioteca Mário de Andrade*. The eight recovered engravings belong to the “Jazz” series, created by Matisse in 1947: they are “Le Clown” ( The Clown), *Le Cirque* ( The Circus), *Monsieur Loyal* ( Mr. Loyal), *Cauchemar de l’Éléphant Blanc* (Nightmare of the White Elephant), *Les Codomas*, *La Nageuse dans l’Aquarium* (The Swimmer in the Aquarium), *L’Avaleur de Sabres* (The Saber Swallower), and *Le Cowboy*. The works as a whole are valued at approximately one million Brazilian reais, or about 165,000 euros.
*Jazz* is one of the most important works in Matisse’s oeuvre. The engravings belong to the collection of the Mário de Andrade Library and constitute an artistic and cultural asset of particular significance for the city of São Paulo: According to the Civil Police, the eight works were formally returned to a representative of the Mário de Andrade Library. The Municipal Secretariat of Culture and Creative Economy will now carry out the necessary technical procedures to assess the condition of the works and subsequently reintegrate them into the library’s collections.
“The recovery of these eight works is news of enormous importance for São Paulo’s culture and heritage. These works belong to the city and to the collective memory of the people of São Paulo,” said Totó Parente, the municipal councilor for Culture and the Creative Economy, thanking the Civil Police for their work during the months-long investigation and for locating the works. Parente also emphasized that, immediately after the theft, the Secretariat took measures to strengthen security protocols at the Mário de Andrade Library and enhance the protection of its heritage. “Our commitment is to ensure that these works are preserved and resume their cultural role as part of the public heritage and the city’s memory,” he added.
The recovery of the engravings follows a series of measures aimed at strengthening the library’s security. The Municipal Secretariat of Culture and Creative Economy has enhanced the security protocols at the Mário de Andrade Library and introduced new guidelines for protecting the institution’s collections and spaces. Training programs for the staff of the company contracted to provide security services have also been expanded. Currently, there are 30 security personnel working inside the Mário de Andrade Library, tasked with strengthening the protection of the building and its heritage.
The new measures are part of a series of initiatives adopted by the Secretariat to increase the security of the collections and continuously improve protection procedures for municipal cultural institutions. For the eight Matisse engravings recovered after the theft, the conservation assessment phase must now be completed before they are permanently returned to the Mário de Andrade Library’s collection.
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| Brazil: Eight Matisse Engravings Stolen from the São Paulo Library Have Been Recovered |
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