Two valuable Renoir paintings remain missing after a pre-dawn heist at the Renoir Museum in Cagnes-sur-Mer on the French Riviera, according to local officials.
Early Tuesday, two individuals cut through a garden fence to gain access to the museum, stealing four paintings. The alarm was triggered at 5:48 a.m., and police arrived within minutes. The thieves dropped two of the stolen works in the museum's garden as they fled with the other two.
Mayor Bryan Masson stated that the two suspects were captured on surveillance cameras. The museum remained closed Tuesday as investigations continued. Masson condemned the attack on the museum as an assault on the town's history and heritage, advocating for enhanced security at French museums.
The stolen works included "Portrait of Madame Colonna Romano," "Coco Lisant," and "Young Girl at the Well." While a French newspaper estimated the value of the four paintings at approximately $10.5 million, a regional police official confirmed the theft but could not verify the reported value. It remains unclear which two paintings were abandoned by the suspects.
The Renoir Museum, established in 1960, is located on the estate where French Impressionist Pierre-Auguste Renoir lived during his final years and died in 1919. The museum's collection comprises 13 Renoir paintings, approximately 40 sculptures, furniture, and photographs.
This incident follows a series of museum thefts in France, including the theft of crown jewels valued at around $102 million from the Louvre in Paris last year. Europol has noted an increase in the violence associated with art robberies across Europe, with some thefts now attributed to opportunists recruited via social media rather than specialist gangs.