"Boy in the Red Waistcoat" (1888), by Paul Cezanne.

Four masterworks valued at $163 million stolen from the E.G. Bührle Collection in Zurich

February 12th 2008 - Four masterworks by some of the greatest masters of the Impressionist and Post-Impressionist painting were stolen yesterday from the E.G. Bührle Collection in Zurich, Switzerland, considered one of the most important private collections of Impressionist Art.

The works stolen are: "Boy in a Red Vest" (1895) a sensational portrait by Cezanne, for sure one of his masterpieces; "Poppies Near Vertheuil" (1879), a pleasant canvas by Claude Monet; "Blossoming Chestnut Branches" (1890), a colorful composition by Vincent van Gogh; and "Count Lepic and His Daughters" (1871), a good scene by Edgar Degas

The Swiss Police has described this robbery as "the biggest Art robbery in Europe", which can be discussed. Don't forget the famous "Gioconda Robbery" in 1911, or the hundreds of works of art stolen from the Hermitage Museum over the past decades

More recent Art robberies:

• Works by Picasso and Portinari in the Sao Paulo Museum of Fine Arts (2007)
• Four important paintings stolen from the Art Museum in Nice (2007)
• The robbery of a painting by Goya in the United States (2006)
• The robbery of the Madonna by Much in Oslo (2006)