Paintings by Renoir, Cézanne, and Matisse worth millions were stolen in a heist on a museum near the Italian city of Parma, police say.
Four masked men entered the Magnani Rocca Foundation villa on 22 March, police reported, making off with Les Poissons by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Still Life with Cherries by Paul Cézanne, and Odalisque on the Terrace by Henri Matisse.
The gang was in and out in just three minutes, as Italian media outlets have reported, interrupted only by the museum's alarm system, which prevented them from stealing more.
The institution represents the latest in a series of audacious thefts, following the daylight robbery of priceless jewels from the Louvre in Paris last October.
The thieves forced their way through the main door to the Villa dei Capolavori, nestled in the Parma countryside, and quickly secured the paintings from the French Room on the building's first floor, as reported by Italian media.
The foundation stated that the invading gang appeared structured and organised and seemed to have intended to steal more were it not for the alarms going off and the police being called.
Criminals escaped by climbing over a fence, according to regional public broadcaster TGR, which first reported the theft.
Estimates suggest the stolen paintings have a combined worth of €9 million (£7.8 million), with Les Poissons alone valued at €6 million, making this one of the most significant art thefts in Italy in recent years.
Renoir was a leading figure in the Impressionist movement, and painted Les Poissons around 1917. The Cézanne, completed around 1890, is notable for its use of watercolour, a medium he only began to embrace towards the end of his life.
Odalisque on the Terrace, painted by Matisse in 1922, depicts two figures - one reclining in the sun while another holds a violin.
The theft is now under investigation by Italy's Carabinieri and the Cultural Heritage Protection Unit of Bologna. News of the heist was made public only on Sunday.
The Magnani Rocca Foundation was established after the death of Luigi Magnani, a composer and art collector, in 1984 in his family home.
