Two paintings by Auguste Renoir stolen a month ago from a museum in the south of France have been recovered, the local town hall said.
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 French impressionist lived during his final years.
The local mayor praised authorities for recovering the paintings and said the news brought immense joy and profound relief.
Six suspects were also arrested in connection with the heist, the town hall confirmed in a statement.
The theft is the latest in a series of high‑profile art heists across Europe.
The two missing paintings were the 1910 Portrait of Madame Colonna Romano and the 1886 Jeune fille au puits.
Thieves used an electric saw to cut through frame mountings, initially taking four paintings but dropping two in the museum’s garden as they fled.
“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.
Further details of their recovery were set to be revealed later on Friday.
The Renoir Museum, opened in 1960, houses 12 of the painter’s works and includes his easel, wheelchair and personal letters.
Earlier this year, paintings by Renoir, Paul Cézanne and Henri Matisse were stolen from a museum near Parma, in a raid that lasted just three minutes. They were recovered in August.
France saw its biggest art robbery in years last October, when crown jewels were stolen in broad daylight from the Louvre in Paris. Disguised as construction workers, the thieves broke into the Apollo Gallery, used an angle‑grinder to open display cases and made off with €88 million (≈£78 million) of jewels. The Louvre was subsequently criticised for under‑investing in security.
