Renoir paintings stolen from French museum recovered

Two paintings by Pierre-Auguste Renoir stolen last month from the Renoir Museum in Cagnes-sur-Mer in southern France have been recovered, Mayor Bryan Masson said Friday.

Masson did not say where the works were found or what condition they were in. Police had not yet issued a statement. AFP reported earlier this week, citing a source close to the investigation, that police had arrested five people.

The stolen works were a portrait titled “Madame Colonna Romano” and a depiction of a woman at a well called “Jeune femme au puits”, according to the mayor's office. The thieves abandoned two other paintings as they fled: “Madame Pichon” and “Coco lisant”, a portrait of Renoir's young son Claude reading.

“These two paintings are not simply works of art. They are part of our city's history,” Masson said. “Knowing they have been recovered is an immense relief.”

Masson said at the time of the September robbery that the suspects cut through a fence to enter the museum grounds, smashed a window to get inside and used an electric saw to cut through the frame mountings. The theft took place shortly before 6:00 am and lasted only minutes.

Masson said the museum alarm and police sirens forced the burglars, whom he described as well equipped and well informed, to hurry. Police said at the time that the burglars did not appear to be first-time offenders and had scoped out the premises before the crime.

The Renoir Museum is in the painter's last home, about a half-hour drive from Nice. Its collection includes nine Renoir paintings, several sculptures and objects and furniture that belonged to him, including his easel and wheelchair.

A series of museum thefts in France has raised questions about security. Crown jewellery valued at about $100 million was stolen from the Louvre in Paris last year; four suspected robbers have been arrested, but the jewels have not been found.