One of the recovered paintings is Nicolas Poussin's ' Midas at the Source of the River Pactole.' Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

Four valuable paintings recovered from parking garage

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One of the recovered paintings is Nicolas Poussin's ' Midas at the Source of the River Pactole.' Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

One of the recovered paintings is Nicolas Poussin’s ‘ Midas at the Source of the River Pactole.’ Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

AJACCIO, France (AFP) – Four valuable paintings including one by French classical artist Nicolas Poussin were recovered from a parking garage in the Corsican capital Ajaccio, a prosecutor said Saturday.

The paintings, which had been stolen in February 2011, were found “in perfect condition” Friday evening following an anonymous tip to investigators, the public prosecutor of Ajaccio, Thomas Pison, told a press briefing.

Dating from the 14th through the 17th centuries, the works were stolen from the Palais Fesch-Musee des Beaux-Arts, which houses the second largest collection of Italian paintings after that of the Louvre in Paris.

Midas at the Source of the River Pactole by Poussin, Pentecost by Mariotto di Nardo, Virgin and Child by Giovanni Bellini and another by an anonymous artist from Umbria in central Italy will be returned to the museum on Monday, Pison said.

Investigating magistrate Charlotte Dauriac, who received the anonymous telephone call, rushed to the scene with police investigators, finding one of the paintings in a plastic bag and the others simply leaning against a wall.

A night watchman at the museum was charged in the case two days after the paintings went missing.

ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

One of the recovered paintings is Nicolas Poussin's ' Midas at the Source of the River Pactole.' Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

One of the recovered paintings is Nicolas Poussin’s ‘ Midas at the Source of the River Pactole.’ Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

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