Renoir paintings worth €4.2m stolen from Cagnes-sur-Mer museum, four charged
French police fast-tracked arrests of six suspects in the theft of two Renoir paintings after one allegedly visited a second museum. Four men have since been charged.
Renoir heist: police acted fast after suspect visited second museum
French police moved swiftly to arrest suspects in the theft of two Renoir paintings from the Renoir Museum in Cagnes-sur-Mer after one of the alleged thieves was seen visiting another museum, raising fears of a second imminent raid. Marseille prosecutor Nicolas Bessone made the disclosure on Monday, as reported by internazionale.it.
Six suspects were arrested earlier this month. Four men have since been formally charged. The two individuals believed to have carried out the theft face charges of organised theft, along with additional offences.
A third man, accused of concealing the stolen works, was charged with organised handling of stolen goods. A fourth suspect, whom investigators say was approached as a potential buyer of the artworks, was charged with handling stolen goods and participation in a criminal conspiracy.
Two Impressionist works valued at €4.2 million
The stolen paintings — "Madame Colonna Romano" and "Young Woman at the Well" by Impressionist master Pierre-Auguste Renoir — were valued at approximately €4.2 million ($4.7 million), according to Bessone.
The theft took place on 8 September at the Renoir Museum on the French Riviera. Investigators say the thieves cut a hole in a garden fence to enter the museum grounds, then gained access to the building through a window.
Both paintings were later recovered hidden behind a false wall inside a private residence. The recovery came almost exactly one month after the theft, following an investigation that drew on DNA evidence, mobile phone geolocation data and surveillance footage.
Both works sustained damage and will require restoration. "Madame Colonna Romano" had been torn.
Suspect denied planning second raid
Bessone said the suspects denied having planned any further museum break-in, but the prosecutor remained unconvinced. He said he did "not believe the principal suspect visited that museum simply out of a love of art."
The thieves had also attempted to steal two additional Renoir works during the same raid: "Madame Pichon" and "Coco Reading", the latter depicting Renoir's young son Claude. Both paintings were abandoned in the museum gardens as the perpetrators fled when police arrived at the scene.
Source: Google News MT — Crime (en)