A five-minute raid on the Renoir Museum in southern France left two valuable paintings missing after thieves removed four works from their frames but dropped two while fleeing.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom.
Two paintings by French impressionist Pierre-Auguste Renoir remain missing after thieves carried out a rapid early-morning raid Tuesday at the Renoir Museum in Cagnes-sur-Mer, southern France, removing four works before abandoning half of them during their escape.
The entire theft took about five minutes, according to the office of Cagnes-sur-Mer Mayor Bryan Masson. Four of the museum’s 12 Renoir paintings were cut from their frames during the break-in.
The two works still missing are “Madame Colonna Romano,” valued at approximately $2.32 million, and “Jeune femme au puits,” worth about $232,000, Deputy Mayor Caroline d’Amat told CNN.
Two other paintings taken from the museum — “Portrait de Madame Stephen Pichon” and “Coco lisant” — were recovered after the thieves dropped them while fleeing.
Masson said the perpetrators appeared to have planned the operation carefully and arrived with specialized equipment.
The thieves were “well-equipped and well-prepared,” according to the mayor, and used an electric saw to cut through fixtures securing the paintings’ frames.
Local authorities praised the police response, but the theft has intensified concerns about whether museums operated by municipalities have sufficient resources to protect valuable collections from increasingly sophisticated criminal groups.
“[The incident] should serve as a warning about the protection of our museums, which now face a new form of organised crime targeting works of art,” the mayor’s office said. “Local authorities cannot bear the growing cost of securing their museums alone.
“The French State must play its full part and provide financial support to municipalities and cultural institutions, enabling them to protect their collections effectively against increasingly organised and determined criminals,” it added.
The investigation is continuing as authorities search for the two missing Renoir works and the people responsible for the theft.
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