Two paintings by Auguste Renoir stolen a month ago from a museum in the south of France have been recovered, the local town hall has said.
On 8 September, thieves cut through a fence and smashed a window at the Musée Renoir in Cagnes-sur-Mer, where the French impressionist had lived during his final years. The two works—Portrait of Madame Colonna Romano (1910) and Jeune fille au puits (1886)—were taken from their frames using an electric saw; the thieves dropped the canvases in the garden as they fled.
The mayor praised authorities, saying the news gave ‘immense joy and profound relief.’ Six suspects have been arrested in connection with the heist.
The theft follows a series of high‑profile art heists across Europe. Earlier this year, paintings by Renoir, Cézanne and Matisse were stolen from a museum near Parma and recovered in August, while last October the Louvre lost €88 m worth of jewels in a daylight raid.
These incidents highlight persistent security challenges for cultural heritage institutions.
