Calmly, the duo crosses two rooms, whose doors were unlocked, of the Mário de Andrade municipal library, the second largest in the country. In a few minutes, the two men pass a security guard and an elderly couple, collect 13 works of art — placed in a prosaic cloth bag — and leave the premises. In the partially filmed escape, which included three changes of clothes and a moment where valuables were placed next to a pile of trash, they ended up walking with the items, in the same tranquility as when they arrived, through the streets of Central São Paulo. The dynamics of the theft that occurred last Sunday were detailed this Monday by the city of São Paulo, which, through the Federal Police (PF), contacted Interpol to try to prevent the trading of the stolen coins outside the country.
- In Sao Paulo: Find out which works were stolen from the Mário de Andrade Library
- See points: Lula sanctions a law that toughens penalties for sexual crimes against minors
At the same time, the São Paulo civil police arrested a suspect involved in the crime. Felipe dos Santos Fernandes Quadra, 31, known as Sujinho, was in a house in Mooca, East Zone, and already had a criminal record for robbery, theft and drug trafficking. On the day of the crime, he was seen talking to the duo who invaded the library and arrested three people.
The identities of other people potentially involved have not been disclosed until now. One of the hypotheses is that they worked on commission for an intermediary knowledgeable about the art market.
Eight prints by French artist Henri Matisse were stolen, the paintings of which were illustrations from a collection called “Jazz”. Eight of the painter’s 20 printed plates were recovered, as well as five engravings by the Brazilian Candido Portinari, made for the book “Menino do Engenho”, by José Lins do Rego.
The works belonged to the exhibition “From the book to the museum: MAM São Paulo and the Mário de Andrade Library”. The exhibition was on its last day on display.
“Jazz” is considered one of Matisse’s most important books published in the 20th century, constituting an important step in the “decoupage” (cut-paper) technique developed by the Frenchman. In April this year, the work was the highlight of Christie’s “Prints and Multiples” auction in New York, which reached $8.6 million (46.2 million reais at current prices). The book sold for US$504,000 (R$2.7 million), 68% above the minimum estimate of US$300,000.
In total, the collection includes 20 engravings. Although the criminals took eight of them, it is not possible to establish a direct link with the individual value of each object. The parts were insured, but, according to officials, the figures involved cannot be disclosed for contractual reasons. The municipal Department of Culture emphasizes that the pieces “have cultural, historical and artistic value, and are not subject to exclusively economic measurement”. Experts interviewed by the g1 portal, however, estimate that the total amount could reach R$1 million.
The escape last Sunday involved abandoning a car, changing the suspects’ clothes and even temporarily arranging some paintings in a corner of central São Paulo, after one of the criminals was frightened by the approach of a vehicle he thought was a police car. According to the town hall, the cameras of the municipal facial recognition system, Smart Sampa, recorded the action, from the theft until the arrival of the suspects at an address where the works were supposed to be hidden.
No works were recovered at the time of publication. Despite the alleged identification of the hideout, authorities said they were awaiting the issuance of a search and seizure warrant to inspect the property.
Leaving the library with the 13 documents, the thieves walked to Vale do Anhangabaú, a few meters away, where a blue van was waiting for them. The vehicle used in the escape was later abandoned.
Records show that while unloading the van, one of the perpetrators even placed the works on a wall, next to a pile of trash, allegedly because he was afraid of an approaching vehicle. Moments later, the suspect returned, collected the paintings and continued on foot, even crossing Avenida Nove de Julho with the stolen material.
The audacity of the action had repercussions in the international press, which correlated the affair with other major episodes around the world. “This theft comes less than two months after the art world was rocked by a brazen break-in at the Louvre museum in Paris, where thieves stole priceless jewels,” described the British television channel BBC.
“Attention has been drawn to the ease with which criminals managed to break into Brazil’s second largest library and steal valuable works,” writes the Argentinian newspaper Clarín. (Nelson Gobbi contributed)
About The Author
