Two paintings were stolen from the Renoir Museum in Cagnes-sur-Mer, France, early Tuesday morning after thieves broke into the building and initially took four artworks valued at around $10.5 million. Police arrived within five minutes of the alarm being triggered at 5:48 a.m. and recovered two of the paintings in the museum’s garden during a chase. Authorities are actively searching for the two perpetrators. Mayor Bryan Masson stated the theft is an attack on the history and heritage of Cagnes-sur-Mer and called for increased museum security.
The stolen works included “Portrait of Madame Colonna Romano,” “Coco Lisant,” and “Young Girl at the Well.” The Renoir Museum, located on the site where the Impressionist painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir lived and died, houses 13 Renoir paintings, as well as sculptures, furniture, and photographs.
The theft follows a series of museum robberies in France, including a high-profile jewel heist at the Louvre Museum in Paris last year, where approximately $102 million worth of jewels were stolen. Europol has reported a shift in art theft, with more opportunistic groups, often recruited through social media, replacing traditional specialist gangs. These groups are driven by the potential for high profit and low risk. While four suspects in the Louvre theft have been arrested, the stolen jewels remain missing despite extensive searches extending to Belgium and Italy.
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