Two individuals broke into the Renoir Museum in Cagnes-sur-Mer, southern France, on Tuesday and stole four paintings valued at an estimated 9 million euros (£7.5 million). The thieves were spotted on the town's video surveillance cameras, but managed to escape, leaving one of the stolen artworks behind.
The museum's alarm sounded at 5:48 a.m., and municipal police arrived on the scene just five minutes later, according to Bryan Masson, the mayor of Cagnes-sur-Mer. Initial findings indicate that the two suspects were seen on CCTV cutting the paintings from their frames.
The Renoir Museum, which opened in 1960, is housed in the artist's final residence before his death in 1919. Its collection includes personal items belonging to Renoir, such as his easel and wheelchair, alongside his paintings.
This incident is the latest in a series of significant art thefts in France and Europe. Less than a year ago, eight items worth around £76 million were stolen during a daytime robbery at the Louvre in Paris. The suspects in that case have been arrested, but the artworks remain missing.
Following the Louvre heist, France's Ministry of Culture prioritized museum security, unveiling a 33-measure plan in July to protect vulnerable objects. Despite these efforts, other thefts have occurred, including the daylight theft of a gold necklace from a museum in Burgundy in July and the theft of jewelry worth an estimated 4.5 million euros from the Lalique museum in Wingen-sur-Moder in the same month.
In a separate incident last month, three paintings by Renoir, Paul Cezanne, and Henri Matisse, collectively valued at over 9 million euros, were stolen from the Magnani-Rocca Foundation near Parma, Italy, in just three minutes. Italian police subsequently arrested five Moldovan nationals and recovered the stolen artworks, which were found hidden in the packaging of a flat-screen television.