ARTFEED — Contemporary Art Intelligence

Two Renoir Paintings Stolen in Five-Minute Heist at French Museum

cultural-heritage · 2026-09-08

On September 8, two thieves broke into the Renoir Museum in Cagnes-sur-Mer, France, and stole two paintings by Pierre-Auguste Renoir: "Madame Colonna Romano" (c. 1910) and "Jeune femme au puits" (c. 1886). The burglars initially took four works but dropped two in the museum's garden while fleeing from police. The heist lasted only five minutes, according to Mayor Bryan Masson, who described the thieves as "well equipped and well informed." They used an electric saw to cut through the exterior fence and the clips securing the frames. The museum's alarm alerted local police, who chased the suspects on foot. The stolen paintings are valued at €9 million ($10.5 million) combined, though the two left behind—"Madame Stephen Pichon" (c. 1895) and "Coco Lisant" (c. 1905)—are included in that estimate. Police are investigating, but the museum's proximity to the Mediterranean Sea may hinder the search. This incident is part of a recent wave of museum robberies across Europe, including a diamond necklace theft at the Museum of Applied Arts in Vienna two weeks prior. A Europol report highlighted that thieves are using more direct and confrontational methods, with growing violence. Additionally, another Renoir painting, "Les poissons" (c. 1917), was stolen in March from the Magnani Rocca Foundation in Parma, Italy, along with works by Paul Cézanne and Henri Matisse. Museum heists have gained media attention since last year's Louvre jewel theft.

Key facts

  • Two thieves stole two Renoir paintings from the Renoir Museum in Cagnes-sur-Mer, France, on September 8.
  • The stolen works are 'Madame Colonna Romano' (c. 1910) and 'Jeune femme au puits' (c. 1886).
  • The thieves initially took four paintings but dropped two in the museum's garden while being chased by police.
  • The heist lasted five minutes, according to Mayor Bryan Masson.
  • The thieves used an electric saw to cut through the fence and frame clips.
  • The combined value of the four paintings is estimated at €9 million ($10.5 million).
  • Police are investigating, but the museum's proximity to the Mediterranean Sea may hinder the search.
  • The incident is part of a recent spate of museum robberies in Europe, including a necklace theft in Vienna and a March heist at the Magnani Rocca Foundation.

Entities

Artists

Institutions

  • Renoir Museum
  • Museum of Applied Arts Vienna
  • Magnani Rocca Foundation
  • Europol
  • Louvre
  • UNESCO
  • Maastricht University
  • Hyperallergic
  • Musée Renoir
  • Musée d’Orsay
  • Ministério da Cultura francês
  • Escritório Central de Combate ao Tráfico de Bens Culturais (OCBC)
  • Le Figaro
  • AFP
  • Dasartes
  • Museu Renoir
  • Ministério da Cultura
  • Museu Lalique
  • Museu Isabella Stewart Gardner
  • Lalique Museum
  • Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
  • Ministry of Culture
  • Alpes-Maritimes judicial police service
  • Nice-Matin
  • Central Office for the Fight against Trafficking in Cultural Property
  • Musée d'Orsay
  • Museo Regionale di Messina
  • National Gallery London
  • Musée du Pays Châtillonnais
  • Musée Lalique
  • Musée Cognacq-Jay
  • Musée Adrien-Dubouché
  • Musée du Hiéron
  • Ministère de la Culture
  • Connaissance des Arts
  • musée Renoir
  • police judiciaire de Nice
  • Office central de lutte contre le trafic des biens culturels (OCBC)
  • parquet de Marseille
  • parquet de Grasse
  • musée d'Orsay
  • RTL
  • musée du Pays châtillonnais
  • musée Lalique
  • musée Nissim de Camondo
  • centre d'art contemporain C. Karoutzos
  • Lalique museum
  • Musée Masséna
  • Musée des Beaux-Arts de Nice
  • Musées Nationaux Récupération (MNR)
  • Le Journal des Arts
  • DCOS
  • Museo Renoir
  • Ufficio centrale francese per la lotta al traffico di beni culturali
  • National Gallery
  • Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
  • Metropolitan Museum of Art
  • Pompidou Centre
  • Smithsonian Magazine
  • ABC News
  • CNN
  • BBC News
  • Agence France-Presse
  • Associated Press
  • London Times
  • Maeght Foundation
  • Interdisciplinary Center for the Conservation and Restoration of Heritage
  • ARTnews
  • Fondazione Magnani Rocca
  • Art Loss Register
  • French Culture Ministry
  • MuMe
  • BFMTV
  • National Rally
  • Nice Matin
  • Marseille prosecutor's office
  • Municipal Police
  • National Police
  • BBC
  • Louvre Museum
  • Association for Research into Crimes against Art (ARCA)
  • Denis Diderot Maison des Lumières
  • Acre Security
  • Museum of Applied Arts (MAK)
  • Art Recovery International
  • Austrian Interior Ministry
  • MUVI Villena Museum
  • Galerie Zak
  • Mondex Corporation
  • INTERPOL
  • Virtual Museum of Stolen Cultural Artifacts
  • Le Monde
  • Reuters
  • The Times
  • ArtCentron
  • Brooklyn Museum
  • Centre interdisciplinaire de conservation et restauration du patrimoine
  • Fondation Maeght
  • police judiciaire
  • Museum of Applied Arts
  • Regional Interdisciplinary Museum of Messina (MuMe)
  • Van Cleef & Arpels
  • Apollo Gallery
  • Artlyst
  • Comédie-Française
  • La Gazette France
  • franceinfo
  • Nice Mag
  • France 3 Côte d'Azur
  • Grasse prosecutor's office
  • interdepartmental judicial police service of the Alpes-Maritimes
  • Central Office for Combating Trafficking in Cultural Property
  • Domaine des Collettes

Locations

  • Cagnes-sur-Mer
  • France
  • Vienna
  • Austria
  • Parma
  • Italy
  • Mediterranean Sea
  • Paris
  • Netherlands
  • França
  • Alpes-Maritimes
  • Var
  • Hérault
  • Doubs
  • Nice
  • Les Collettes
  • Châtillon-sur-Seine
  • Wingen-sur-Moder
  • Boston
  • Estados Unidos
  • United States
  • Sicily
  • London
  • United Kingdom
  • Grasse
  • Limoges
  • Paray-le-Monial
  • Strasbourg
  • Marseille
  • Alsace
  • Auvergne
  • Mamiano di Traversetolo
  • Bavaria
  • Germany
  • Côte d'Azur
  • Collettes
  • New York
  • Europe
  • French Riviera
  • Clermont-l'Hérault
  • Northern Italy
  • Landres
  • Burgundy
  • Messina
  • Spain
  • Domaine des Collettes
  • Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
  • Langres
  • Sweden
  • Auschwitz
  • Poland
  • Russia
  • Baltimore
  • Chemnitz
  • Saint-Paul-de-Vence
  • Apollo Gallery

Sources

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