Three Renoir Paintings Worth €9 Million Stolen from French Museum

Thieves have stolen three paintings from the Renoir Museum in France, the local mayor said.

Two thieves broke into the museum dedicated to French impressionist painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir in southern France early Tuesday, local time, stealing four works of art, dropping one as they fled.

Local French newspaper Nice-Matin reported the stolen paintings as Portrait of Madame Pichon (1895), Portrait of Madame Colonna Romano (1910), Coco Lisant (1905) and Jeune fille au puits (1886).

The mayor's office estimated the value of the stolen works at 9 million euros ($14.5 million).

"Spotted thanks to the town's video surveillance cameras, the two individuals fled, abandoning one of the stolen paintings as they ran," said Bryan Masson, mayor of Cagnes-sur-Mer.

"The museum alarm went off at 5:48am. At 5:53am, just five minutes later, our municipal police were on the scene," Mr Masson said.

"Since this morning, both the municipal and national police have been deployed to the site.

"The perpetrators are being actively sought, and the investigation is ongoing."

The Renoir Museum was opened in 1960 in the painter's last home before his death in 1919.

Its collection includes objects and furniture that belonged to Renoir, including his easel and wheelchair, as well as portraits, landscapes, and nudes painted by the artist.

Spate of art heists in Europe

The theft comes less than a year after jewels valued at around 88 million euros ($141 million) were stolen during a daylight robbery from the Louvre in Paris.

The four suspected Louvre robbers have been arrested, but the stolen items still have not been found despite extensive searches by French investigators in the Paris region and exchanges with police in Belgium, Italy and beyond.

In August, three century-old paintings, including a Renoir, stolen by an organised gang from an Italian museum during a three-minute heist were recovered.

The artworks included Fish by Auguste Renoir, Paul Cézanne's Still Life with Cherries, and Odalisque on the Terrace by Henri Matisse.

Days after their recovery, another four paintings were stolen from another Italian museum.

Artworks by 15th century painter Antonello da Messina were taken from the Museo Regionale di Messina — the pieces some of the only surviving work by the Renaissance painter to have remained in his native city.