Two Renoir Paintings Stolen From Museum On French Riviera

French police are searching for two thieves who stole two paintings by Pierre-Auguste Renoir from a museum in Cagnes-sur-Mer on the French Riviera early Tuesday morning. The thieves, wearing combat gear, gloves and helmets, broke into the Renoir Museum, which is housed in the artist’s former home. They cut through the museum’s perimeter fence at 5:48am and entered the building through a window.

They managed to take four paintings but fled with only two. The other two were dropped in the museum garden as the thieves escaped.

The break-in lasted less than three minutes. The museum’s alarm sounded as soon as the thieves entered, and municipal police arrived exactly five minutes later, at 5:53am. Their quick response appears to have forced the thieves to abandon two of the paintings.

The Paintings Are Worth Millions

The two paintings that remain missing are Young Woman at the Well and Portrait of Madame Colonna Romano. Both were on loan to the museum from the Musée d’Orsay in Paris. The other two paintings, Portrait of Madame Pichon and Coco Reading, were recovered unharmed from the museum garden.

Cagnes-sur-Mer mayor Bryan Masson estimated the value of the stolen paintings at around €9 million (US$10.5 million).

Despite their high value, the paintings could be extremely difficult for thieves to sell. Famous artworks are closely documented and cannot easily be moved through the legitimate art market without attracting attention.

A Museum With A Personal Connection To Renoir

The Renoir Museum is located in the house where the French Impressionist spent the final years of his life. Renoir lived there before his death in 1919 at the age of 78.

The museum has around a dozen of his paintings, along with about 40 sculptures, photographs, furniture and personal objects. These include his easel and wheelchair. The museum is also one of the best-known attractions in Cagnes-sur-Mer, which lies between Nice and Cannes on the Mediterranean coast.

Paintings With Complicated Histories

Two of the paintings involved in the theft have links to the turbulent history of art during and after the Second World War.

Young Woman at the Well is believed to have been looted by the Nazis during the war. It was recovered in Bavaria in 1949 and later returned to France.

Coco Reading, which the thieves abandoned, also has a wartime history. Renoir painted his young son Claude, known as Coco. The painting was taken to Germany during the war and was eventually returned to France in 1994.

Another Museum Heist Raises Security Concerns

The theft comes amid growing concern over security at museums across France and Europe. In October last year, thieves pulled off a daylight heist at the Louvre in Paris, using a mechanical lift to enter a window during opening hours. They escaped on motorbikes with crown jewellery worth around €88 million in a raid lasting less than eight minutes.

Europol has also warned that museum robberies in Europe are becoming more violent, with criminals increasingly using weapons and heavy tools. The Cagnes-sur-Mer theft has renewed calls for better security and funding, particularly for smaller museums that may not have the resources of major institutions.

French authorities are investigating the Renoir theft as an organised crime case. The national office responsible for combating trafficking in cultural goods is also involved in the investigation.

(With inputs from various sources)

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