Renoir Paintings Worth Millions Stolen from Museum in France
The pair of suspects initially made off with four pieces, but dropped two in the gardens of the Renoir Museum as they made their escape
In what’s becoming an increasingly worrisome trend, a pair of thieves stole four paintings by Pierre-Auguste Renoir from the Renoir Museum in Cagnes-sur-Mer early Tuesday. During the three-minute heist, the suspects dropped two of the works in the museum gardens, but the others have yet to be found, local Mayor Bryan Masson told news outlets.
The paintings, identified as Portrait of Madame Colonna Romano (c. 1910) and Young Woman at the Well, both on loan from the Musée d’Orsay, are estimated to be worth over $10 million, but likely cannot be sold due to the high-profile crime. The museum, which opened in 1960 in Renoir’s last home, has a dozen original paintings by the Impressionist artist. It also houses original furniture and objects, including Renoir’s easel and wheelchair. The museum remained closed on Wednesday, with plans to reopen on Thursday.
Masson said that local police were on the site five minutes after the alarm sounded, and that the investigation remains ongoing. “Attacking the Renoir Museum is attacking a part of Cagnes-sur-Mer,” he said. “History and heritage. These facts are particularly serious.”
The crime comes weeks after thieves stole a Van Cleef & Arpels diamond necklace from Vienna’s Museum of Applied Arts, and after four Antonello da Messina paintings were swiped from the Regional Interdisciplinary Museum of Messina (MuMe).