Eight Stolen Matisse 'Jazz' Plates Recovered in Brazil After Nine-Month Probe

Key facts

• Eight Matisse plates from Jazz (1947) were stolen on December 7, 2025 from the Mário de Andrade Library in São Paulo.
• The works were recovered on August 13 after a nine-month investigation.
• The plates were found in an apartment in São Bernardo do Campo, a suburb of São Paulo.
• Suspect João Paulo Linhares de Araújo, 44, was arrested for receiving stolen goods and illegal weapon possession.
• The theft was carried out by two armed men who neutralized a security guard and two visitors.
• Five engravings by Cândido Portinari were also stolen and remain missing.
• The recovered plates belong to the hand-signed 120th copy of Jazz (out of 270 existing).
• Laéssio Rodrigues de Oliveira, 53, known as Brazil's greatest rare-book thief, is suspected as the mastermind and has been imprisoned since April 20.