In brief
The Renoir Museum in southern France recovered the Portrait of Madame Colonna Romano (1910) and Jeune fille au puits (1886) after thieves vandalised a fence and smashed a window on 8 September. The perpetrators used an electric saw to cut frame mountings and initially fled with four works, dropping two in the garden. Six suspects were arrested, and the mayor welcomed the safe return, noting the paintings’ importance to the city’s cultural heritage. The incident echoes recent European art thefts, including the 2022 Parma raid and the 2020 Louvre jewellery theft.
Two Renoir paintings stolen from a French museum last month have been recovered, the local town hall announced.
The works were seized on 8 September when thieves cut through a fence and smashed a window at the Renoir Museum in Cagnes-sur-Mer, where the impressionist lived during his final years.
Portrait of Madame Colonna Romano (1910) and Jeune fille au puits (1886) are now back in the display case. Six suspects have been arrested in connection with the heist.
The maker of the noise‑cracking, electric saw slipped in to unlock the frame mountings, taking four paintings. Two of those were left behind in the museum’s garden as the robbers fled, allowing recovery by security patrols.
“These two paintings are far more than works of art. They are part of our city’s history, our cultural heritage and the legacy Auguste Renoir left to Cagnes-sur-Mer,” said Mayor Bryan Masson, a member of France’s National Rally.
The museum, which opened in 1960, houses 12 of Renoir’s works, including his easel, wheelchair and personal letters. The city’s pride in the museum’s collection has spurred a hard‑look at security following the theft.
The incident follows a string of high‑profile European art heists, notably the 2022 head‑lining intrusion at a museum near Parma and the 2020 Louvre jewellery robbery that saw €88m of jewels stolen.
Authorities plan a detailed post‑theft audit and a review of the museum’s protective measures. The public was thanked for the collective support toward preserving cultural heritage.
