Matisse engravings tied by police to Brazil theft suspect

Brazilian police say phone records helped them recover eight Henri Matisse engravings stolen from a Sao Paulo library and tied the case to Laessio Rodrigues, a 53-year-old man accused of masterminding the theft.

The pieces, from Matisse's limited-edition 1947 art book "Jazz" and valued by police at about $200,000, were found in a closet at a home in Sao Bernardo do Campo, near Sao Paulo. Jose Silva Parente, Sao Paulo's municipal secretary for culture, said the engravings have been returned to the Mario de Andrade Library and are being examined, though they appear undamaged.

Police say the engravings were stolen on December 7, 2025, from a rare-book exhibition after thieves overpowered a security guard and an elderly couple, took the Matisse works and other items from a glass dome, and fled. Five illustrations by Brazilian artist Candido Portinari stolen in the same robbery have not been recovered.

Ronald Quene, the Civil Police commissioner leading the investigation, said officers identified two suspects using surveillance cameras and later found communications with Rodrigues. He said investigators found audio recordings of Rodrigues coordinating the theft, including discussions about dividing money.

Rodrigues was arrested in April and is awaiting trial for multiple crimes, including the Matisse theft. Police have also arrested his husband, a woman and a man who lived at the home where the works were found. The man told police he did not know where the pieces came from and that Rodrigues had asked him to keep them there.

Quene said Rodrigues had studied library science to identify valuable books and had previously worked at the library where the theft occurred.