Two paintings by the renowned French artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir have been found, a month after they were stolen from a museum in southern France. Cagnes-sur-Mer’s mayor made this announcement on Friday.
In September, intruders broke into the museum in Cagnes-sur-Mer. They escaped with two of Renoir’s paintings, leaving two behind during the getaway.
“These two paintings are not simply works of art. They are part of our city’s history,” stated Bryan Masson, the mayor of Cagnes-sur-Mer. “Knowing they have been recovered is an immense relief.”
As of now, there has been no official statement from the police regarding the recovery.
An incident on September 8, 2026, saw criminals cutting through a fence to access the museum’s grounds. They smashed a window to enter and used an electric saw to remove the frames. Mayor Masson provided these details shortly after the robbery took place.
Earlier this week, a source connected to the investigation informed AFP that police had detained five individuals related to the case.
The Renoir Museum is located about a half-hour drive from Nice. It was Renoir’s last home before he passed away at the age of 78 in 1919.
This theft is part of a recent trend of high-profile robberies in France. Notable among these was the daylight theft of crown jewels worth approximately $100 million from the Louvre in Paris last year.