Thieves have stolen four paintings from the Renoir Museum in Cagnes-sur-Mer on the French Riviera, as confirmed by the local mayor. However, during their escape, the thieves dropped two of the paintings in the gardens while being pursued by the police following alarms triggered early on Tuesday. The stolen paintings are valuable works by the renowned impressionist painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir, with past auctions fetching millions of dollars for his masterpieces.
Mayor Bryan Masson disclosed that the thieves unlawfully entered the museum just before 6 a.m. by creating a hole in a garden fence to steal the four paintings. This incident marks another in a series of bold art thefts within the country, with Masson emphasizing the gravity of the situation by stating that targeting the Renoir Museum is an attack on the history and heritage of Cagnes-sur-Mer.
The two paintings that were successfully stolen were identified as “Madame Colonna Romano” and “Young Woman at the Well,” both of which belong to Paris’s renowned Musée d’Orsay and were on loan to the Renoir Museum in Cagnes-sur-Mer. The mayor highlighted the irreplaceable value of Renoir’s art, mentioning that they cannot be easily sold.
Additionally, the thieves also took the paintings “Madame Pichon” and “Coco Reading,” portraying Claude, the son of the famous Impressionist artist, but abandoned them in the gardens as they fled from the police. An investigation into the organized gang responsible for the theft has been initiated by the Marseille prosecutor’s office.
The museum, established in 1960 within the artist’s mansion on a hill in Cagnes-sur-Mer, showcases a collection of 13 paintings by Renoir along with approximately 40 sculptures, furniture pieces, and photographs. This theft follows a pattern of increasing violent robberies within Europe, with Europol highlighting a shift from specialist gangs to ad hoc opportunists recruited through social media for such criminal activities.
The French government faces mounting pressure to address security vulnerabilities in the country’s museums following this incident, with concerns raised about the lack of resources and preparedness in safeguarding valuable artworks and cultural artifacts. Masson, a member of the National Rally party, has urged for enhanced security measures across museums in France to prevent further crimes targeting art pieces.
Furthermore, a survey conducted by the French Culture Ministry in 2024 revealed deficiencies in emergency and risk prevention plans, with nearly half of the institutions lacking adequate video surveillance. The incident involving the theft of Renoir paintings serves as a stark reminder of the urgent need to protect museums from this new wave of art-related crimes.