18 Jul 2013

Old masters may have gone up in smoke

11:11 pm on 18 July 2013

Romanian investigators have found the remains of paint, canvas and nails in the oven of a woman whose son is charged with stealing masterpieces from a Dutch gallery in October last year.

Paintings by Picasso, Monet and Matisse were among the artwork stolen from Rotterdam's Kunsthal museum, the BBC reports.

Olga Dogaru admitted last week to torching the artwork to "destroy evidence" after her son's arrest.

The art is valued at between 100 million and 200 million euros.

The missing works include Monet's Waterloo Bridge, Picasso's Harlequin Head, Matisse's Reading Girl in White and Yellow and Lucien Freud's Woman with Eyes Closed.