Theft at Renoir museum in Cagnes-sur-Mer: four paintings stolen, €9 million in losses
Four works by Renoir were stolen on Tuesday 8 September from the museum in Cagnes-sur-Mer. The losses are estimated at €9 million; two paintings have been recovered.
Four Renoirs stolen in Cagnes-sur-Mer, two of which later abandoned by the thieves
Four paintings by artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir were stolen on Tuesday 8 September from the Renoir Museum in Cagnes-sur-Mer, according to nicematin.com. The perpetrators managed to enter the property and remove the works despite the activation of the Ramsès security system. The losses are estimated at approximately €9 million.
Caroline d'Amat, deputy mayor responsible for cultural affairs, heritage and patronage, detailed the stolen works in an interview with Nice-Matin. These are paintings catalogued at an international level.
"Madame Pichon" is the first painting targeted. D'Amat describes a canvas depicting a woman with puffy sleeves, "very typical of Renoir", and notes that this work "could have considerably increased the losses".
The second painting is an oil on canvas entitled portrait of Madame Colonna Romano, companion of Pierre Renoir. "It was one of my favourite works because there was almost a painting within the painting", the deputy mayor confides. The canvas measures 94 by 74 centimetres. "It is quite invaluable, not only because of its provenance, its subject, its date, which was ideal", she adds. D'Amat also emphasises the particularly moving character of the work: "it touched his family and it was totally emblematic of his oeuvre".
The third stolen piece: "Coco Reading", a portrait of Renoir's son with long blond hair. A work "which gained renown throughout the world", according to the deputy mayor.
The fourth painting, "Young Woman at the Well", is described as a "classical subject" but one which remained unfinished. D'Amat sees in it "all the emotion one can find in an ordinary life figure that Renoir came to find here in Cagnes, since he came to settle for the final days of his life".
The mayor of Cagnes-sur-Mer, Bryan Masson (Rassemblement national), stated that two individuals were identified through the city's video surveillance cameras. In their flight, they abandoned one of the stolen paintings. A second was also found in the museum's garden.
The Nice anti-banditry unit is in charge of the investigation.
Source: Google News LU FR