Sabres, clowns and a cowboy: Brazil recovers eight stolen Matisse works

Police in Brazil found stolen works by French artist Henri Matisse Thursday and arrested a man accused of holding on to the art for the alleged thieves.

The art, worth about $200,000, was found at a home in Sao Bernardo do Campo, a suburb 12 miles southeast of Sao Paulo. The police believe that suspect Joao Paulo Linhares de Araujo, 44, kept the Matisse works after they were stolen from a Sao Paulo library in December 2025, according to Brazilian news site G1.

The eight Matisse works recovered were “Le Clown,” “Le Cirque,” “Monsieur Loyal,” “Cauchemar de L’Eléphant Blanc,” “Le Codomas,” “La Nageuse Dans L’Aquarium,” “L’Avaleur de Sabres” and “Le Cowboy,” according to G1.

Mr. Linhares de Araujo is the fourth suspect arrested so far. The alleged mastermind of the art theft, Laessio Rodrigues de Oliveira, 53, has been in custody since April.

He was arrested by Brazilian federal police as part of a separate case involving attempted bribery of a security agent to steal different works of art, according to the O Globo newspaper.

Another one of the suspects in the library operation was also arrested at the same time, while a woman accused of being involved was arrested in May, according to the Folha de S.Paulo newspaper.

Another five works by Brazilian painter Candido Portinari that were stolen along with the Matisse works are still missing. Local authorities believe the Portinari paintings may have already been sold, according to O Globo.