In brief
The Renoir Museum in southern France was robbed early Tuesday, when two thieves seized four Renoir paintings worth €9 million each. Two works were dropped in the gardens and recovered, while the other two—Portrait of Madame Colonna Romano and Jeune fille au puits—continue to be missing. The burglars used electric knives and hacksaws, bypassed fences, and triggered the alarm at 05:48. This incident follows a string of art heists across Europe, raising alarm over museum security and prompting calls for higher government funding.
Two thieves broke into the Renoir Museum in Cagnes‑sur‑Mer early on Tuesday, seizing four paintings but dropping two of the works in the museum gardens as they escaped, local mayor Bryan Masson said.
The four Renoir works — each valued at €9 million (~$10.4 million) — are part of a string of recent art heists that have put European museum security in focus.
According to Masson, the intruders slipped through a fence and then cut through the frames that secured the paintings. The alarm triggered at 05:48 (03:48 GMT) and police arrived within five minutes. The burglars fled upon hearing the alarm.
Witnesses say the thieves were “well-equipped and well-informed”, wearing helmets, gloves and combat gear, and carrying an electric knife and hacksaw.
Policeman recovered two paintings from the garden: Portrait of Madame Pichon (1895) and Coco Lisant (1905). The other two, Portrait of Madame Colonna Romano (1910) and Jeune fille au puits (1886), remain missing.
Mayor Masson warned that the heist could serve as a warning about the protection of museums, calling for more state funding to safeguard cultural heritage.
The Renoir Museum, opened in 1960 as the artist’s last home before his death in 1919, holds 12 of Renoir’s works and displays many items belonging to the painter, including his easel, wheelchair and personal letters.
