Five significant paintings were stolen from the Paris Museum of Modern Art.  Among the works is a Picasso, a Matisse, and the total value of the works missing is half a billion Euros.

Security cameras caught a masked individual stealing the major paintings in the wee hours of the morning.  The works include Pablo Picasso’s Le pigeon aux petits-pois, L’olvier pres de l’Estaque by Georges Braque, and three other important paintings by Henri Matisse, Fernand Leger, and Amedeo Modigliani.

The museum’s night guard first noticed the works were missing around 7am in Paris.  A broken padlock and shattered window were discovered where the thief entered, and it is still unclear whether the museum’s alarm systems were tampered with.

The museum is currently blocked off for further police investigation.

Henri Matisse’s La pastorale and Pablo Picasso’s Le pigeon aux petits pois

image from lepoint.fr