Three Renoir Paintings Stolen in French Riviera Museum Heist

Three paintings by renowned French Impressionist Pierre-Auguste Renoir have been stolen from a museum in the southern French town of Cagnes-sur-Mer, in a brazen early-morning raid that has triggered a police manhunt.

Two thieves broke into the Renoir Museum shortly before 6 a.m. on Tuesday, September 8, stealing four artworks. Police responded within minutes after the museum’s alarm was activated, but the suspects escaped after abandoning one of the paintings during the chase.

The stolen works are estimated to be worth around €9 million ($10.4 million). The identities of the three paintings still missing have been reported differently by outlets, with AP identifying works including Portrait of Madame Colonna Romano, Coco Lisant and Young Girl at the Well.

The museum is housed in the former hillside residence where Renoir lived during the final years of his life. It was established as a museum in 1960, more than four decades after the artist died in 1919.

The collection contains 13 Renoir paintings, along with around 40 sculptures, furniture and photographs connected to the artist.

According to reports, the suspects were captured on the town’s surveillance cameras as they made their getaway. Police pursued them, but they managed to escape with three paintings.

Cagnes-sur-Mer Mayor Bryan Masson condemned the robbery as an attack on the town’s cultural heritage and called for stronger security at museums.

The Renoir theft comes amid growing concern over security at French cultural institutions following a series of high-profile art and jewellery robberies.

Europol recently warned that art thefts across Europe are becoming increasingly aggressive, with some traditional organised gangs being replaced by loosely connected criminals recruited through social media.

The latest incident also recalls last year’s spectacular robbery at Paris’ Louvre Museum, where thieves escaped with millions of euros worth of royal jewellery.

French authorities are now searching for the Renoir suspects and the three missing paintings.

The museum was closed following the robbery while investigators examined the scene.