Four paintings by renowned French artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir, collectively valued at about €9 million, have been stolen from a museum on the French Riviera.
Two thieves broke into the Musée Renoir in Cagnes-sur-Mer early Tuesday morning, stealing four artworks before abandoning one as they fled, according to the local mayor’s office.
The museum’s alarm was triggered at 5:48am local time, with police arriving at the scene about five minutes later.
The suspects had already fled and had not been apprehended, authorities said.
According to French regional newspaper Nice-Matin, the stolen paintings are Portrait of Madame Pichon (1895), Portrait of Madame Colonna Romano (1910), Coco Lisant (1905) and Jeune fille au puits (1886).
All four works were painted by Renoir, who spent part of his later life in Cagnes-sur-Mer.
It remains unclear which of the four paintings was abandoned by the thieves during their escape.
The theft comes less than a year after a major robbery at the Louvre Museum in Paris, where jewellery worth about €88 million was stolen.
Among the items taken in that October heist were a diamond and an emerald necklace that Emperor Napoleon had given to his wife.
In that incident, the thieves used a stolen vehicle-mounted mechanical lift to gain access to the Louvre from a balcony near the River Seine.
Four main suspects were subsequently arrested, although eight pieces of the stolen jewellery remained missing.
The latest theft adds to growing concerns over the security of valuable cultural artefacts in Europe.
Europol said in a report published last month that art thieves in Europe were increasingly carrying out violent robberies targeting gold and jewellery, with some operations involving opportunists recruited through social media.
Police investigations into the Renoir museum theft are continuing, while authorities are working to identify and apprehend the suspects and recover the missing artwork.
Erizia Rubyjeana
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