Brazilian police recover eight Matisse prints stolen from São Paulo library in December 2025 heist
Brazilian police recovered eight Henri Matisse prints stolen from the Mário de Andrade Library in São Paulo on December 7, 2025, finding them in an apartment in São Bernardo do Campo on August 13, 2026. Five works by Candido Portinari taken in the same heist remain missing.
The recovery
Brazilian police recovered eight prints by Henri Matisse on Thursday, August 13, 2026, nine months after they were stolen from the Mário de Andrade Library in São Paulo. The prints, belonging to the artist's 1947 series "Jazz," were found in an apartment in São Bernardo do Campo, a suburb south of the city. Police images showed the colourful compositions laid out on a bed beside a revolver. A 44-year-old man, identified by the Brazilian news channel Globo as João Paulo Linhares de Araújo, was arrested at the scene on charges of receiving stolen goods and illegal firearm possession. The São Paulo city government said the prints had already been returned to the library, where security has been reinforced.
The eight recovered works are "Le Clown," "Le Cirque," "Monsieur Loyal," "Cauchemar de l'Éléphant Blanc," "Les Codomas," "La Nageuse dans l'Aquarium," "L'Avaleur de Sabres" and "Le Cowboy." Their value is reported differently across sources: ANSA cites over 1 million reais (about 166,000 euros), while BBC, France 24 and Il Messaggero cite approximately $200,000 (about 173,000 euros). Art critics quoted by BBC noted the works' cultural value is "incalculable."
- Armed men steal 8 Matisse prints and 5 Portinari works from the Mário de Andrade Library in São Paulo on the last day of an exhibition.
- One suspect arrested the day after the heist through the city's facial recognition system.
- Federal police arrest suspected mastermind Laéssio Rodrigues de Oliveira in Rio de Janeiro while he attempts to bribe a guard for another art theft.
- Police conduct operations at auction houses and art-trade establishments in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, São Bernardo do Campo and Diadema.
- Police recover the 8 Matisse prints from an apartment in São Bernardo do Campo and arrest a 44-year-old suspect.
The heist
The theft took place on December 7, 2025, the final day of the exhibition "Dal libro al museo: MAM São Paulo e la Biblioteca Mário de Andrade." Two armed men entered the library through the main pedestrian entrance around mid-morning, overpowered a security guard and an elderly couple visiting the library, and fled with the artworks in a bag through the same entrance toward the nearest metro station. Security camera footage released by authorities later showed the men carrying the pieces on the street; at one point a man placed a stack of frames next to a pile of garbage on a sidewalk before returning to pick it up.
Along with the eight Matisse prints, the thieves took five works by Brazilian modernist painter Candido Portinari (1903-1962), created to illustrate a special edition of the novel "Menino de Engenho" by José Lins do Rego. Those five works have not been recovered. Police suspect they have already been sold on the clandestine art market. The authorities alerted Interpol after the heist out of concern the pieces might be smuggled out of the country.
Investigation and arrests
The São Paulo Public Security Secretariat described the theft as the work of a specialised art-theft ring. One suspect was arrested the day after the heist through the city's facial recognition system. In April 2026, federal police in Rio de Janeiro arrested two more members of the organisation, including the suspected mastermind, Laéssio Rodrigues de Oliveira, a 53-year-old described by Brazilian media as a prolific thief. He was detained while attempting to bribe a guard at the Instituto Rui Barbosa to facilitate another art theft. A woman investigated in connection with the library heist is also in custody.
In May 2026, police carried out operations at establishments linked to the auction market and art trade in the municipalities of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, São Bernardo do Campo and Diadema. The Civil Police of São Paulo stated that the group operated in a structured manner with prior planning and a division of tasks for the theft, receiving and subsequent insertion of cultural property into the clandestine market.
Totó Parente, an official in the São Paulo government, said on Thursday that recovering the Matisse works was of "enormous importance" to the city. Police said they have yet to locate the five Portinari pieces.
