French police recover two Renoir paintings stolen from Cagnes-sur-Mer museum
In short
French police recovered two Renoir paintings stolen from the artist's museum in Cagnes-sur-Mer in September, Russian outlets reported October 9. Six suspects were reported detained in connection with the theft.
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French police recovered two Renoir paintings stolen from the artist's museum in Cagnes-sur-Mer in September, Russian outlets reported October 9. The works were identified as Madame Colonna Romano and Young Woman at the Well. RIA Novosti, citing television reporting, said they had been found on October 8. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ]
Six people were reported detained in connection with the theft. Kommersant said the arrests took place October 7 and that two detainees were suspected of directly committing the theft. It valued the recovered paintings at €8-10 million and said they would return to the museum. [ 2 , 3 , 4 ]
RIA Novosti and Kommersant described thieves taking four paintings in the September 8 break-in and abandoning two as they fled. Kommersant identified the abandoned works as Coco Reading and Portrait of Madame Stephen Pichon. Meduza instead described the recovery as involving two of three stolen paintings. [ 2 , 3 , 4 ]
Meduza, citing Reuters, reported that the two recovered works belonged to the Musée d'Orsay in Paris. It said Cagnes-sur-Mer Mayor Bryan Masson had planned a news conference but later canceled it to avoid interfering with the investigation. Both Meduza and Kommersant said the details of how the paintings were recovered had not been disclosed. [ 3 , 4 ]
Why it matters
Kommersant reported that the recovered paintings were valued at €8-10 million and would return to the museum. Details of how they were recovered had not been disclosed.
Key facts
- The recovered works were Madame Colonna Romano and Young Woman at the Well. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]
- RIA Novosti reported that police found the paintings on October 8. [ 2 ]
- Six people were reported detained in connection with the theft. [ 2 , 3 , 4 ]
- Kommersant reported that the two works were valued at €8-10 million. [ 3 ]
Confirmed by several sources
Still unclear
- The documents give different accounts of the number of paintings stolen. RIA Novosti and Kommersant describe four works initially taken and two abandoned; Meduza describes recovery of two of three stolen works.
- The method used to recover the paintings has not been disclosed. Kommersant and Meduza said details of the recovery were not provided.