Two thieves allegedly sliced through a fence, climbed through a window and stole four valuable Renoir paintings from a small museum on the French Riviera, but abandoned two of the artworks as they fled, according to authorities
Two burglars cut through fencing, entered via a window and made off with four prized Renoir paintings on Tuesday from a modest museum on the French Riviera, though they discarded two of the artworks during their escape, officials confirmed.
A nationwide manhunt for the culprits was immediately launched.
The entire raid lasted under three minutes and specifically targeted the most precious pieces at the Renoir Museum in Cagnes-sur-Mer, according to the regional prosecutor’s office.
The robbery brought back distressing recollections of last year’s dramatic theft of crown jewels from Paris’s Louvre Museum and reignited demands for enhanced security and increased funding for France’s numerous cultural institutions, both large and small.
Cagnes-sur-Mer’s Mayor Bryan Masson put the combined worth of Tuesday’s stolen Renoir pieces at 9 million euros ($10.5 million), though art theft specialists cautioned they would prove exceptionally difficult to offload.
The Renoir Museum occupies the final residence of artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir, where he spent his days until his death in 1919. It stands as the most renowned attraction in Cagnes-sur-Mer, nestled between Cannes and Nice along the Mediterranean coastline.
The “well-equipped” and “well-informed” criminals gained access to the Renoir Museum through the garden, Masson informed journalists at the location.
Using an electric knife or saw, they sliced through fencing, accessed the museum via the ground floor, then severed the clips holding the artwork frames in place, Masson explained in comments broadcast by local station Ici Azur. The museum’s alarm was triggered at 5:48am local time, with officers on the scene within five minutes, according to the mayor.
Their rapid response “forced the burglars to flee in haste and helped limit the scale of the theft,” the mayor confirmed in a written statement to The Associated Press.
Two of the pinched artworks were discovered abandoned in the museum grounds – Renoir’s “Portrait of Madame Pichon′′ and “Coco Reading,” prosecutors revealed. The pair still unaccounted for are “Portrait of Madame Colonna Romano” and “Young Woman at the Well.”
The venue housed 12 Renoir pieces altogether, the mayor noted. The museum remained shut on Tuesday while inquiries continued.
Marseille prosecutors launched an investigation into theft by an organised gang, with France’s national office for traffic in cultural goods joining the probe.
“This incident should serve as a warning about the protection of our museums,” the mayor stated.
Art theft specialist James Ratcliffe from the Art Loss Register told the AP that insufficient funding remains the primary challenge facing museums globally, not solely in France. Smaller institutions are particularly vulnerable due to their restricted budgets.
”The theft of the Louvre has demonstrated to everybody with criminal intent that museums are potentially soft targets,” he explained. ”People are looking at museums differently.”
Unlike the Louvre robbery or other recent museum raids focusing on gold or jewels that can be melted down or recut, the Renoir theft presents the criminals with a dilemma.
”Although the (paintings) are valuable, and will have probably seven figures attached to them in terms of the financial value, trying to find a buyer who will pay that is going to be almost impossible for them,” Ratcliffe said.
”Unless they have a plan for that in advance, they’re not going to be able to just go to an art dealer and say, ‘Look, I’ve got these two nice Renoirs, would you like to buy them?
‘ ”.
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