RIO DE JANEIRO, Feb 25: A spectacular robbery of art works by Picasso, Matisse, Monet and Dali marred the start of Rio’s Carnival on Friday, which saw a slimmer than usual King Momo kick off festivities to feverish samba rhythms.

Just as festivities hit a frenzy, gunmen burst into the Chacara do Ceu museum in Rio de Janeiro and made off with their most valuable paintings and a book by Picasso.

The paintings were Pablo Picasso’s ‘The Dance’ and a book by him titled ‘Toros’, Claude Monet’s ‘Marine’, Henri Matisse’s ‘Garden of Luxembourg’ and Salvador Dali’s ‘Two Balconies’, museum director Vera de Alencar told reporters.

De Alencar said four men brandishing firearms had been involved in the heist — including one holding a hand grenade. The men also mugged five tourists inside the museum, she said.

She said the robbers knew exactly what they were taking.

“Dali’s picture, for example, is the only one by him in public exhibition in Latin America,” she said.

The theft came as the world’s biggest street party got under way.

“I give this key to King Momo to launch Carnival 2006. Let the festivities begin!” Mayor Otavio Leite said over the pounding drums and samba music outside Palacio de Cidade, the town hall, in Rio’s southern Botafogo district.—AFP