Two paintings by French impressionist Pierre-Auguste Renoir have been found again, weeks after thieves snatched them from a museum in southern France, the town’s mayor has said.
The works were taken last month when intruders broke into the museum in Cagnes-sur-Mer and got away with two pieces, leaving two others behind as they fled.
“These two paintings are not simply works of art. They are part of our city’s history,” said Mayor Bryan Masson.
“Knowing they have been recovered is an immense relief.”
Police have yet to issue a statement. Mr Masson also offered no details about where the paintings were located or what condition they are in.
At the time of the robbery, Mr Masson said the suspects cut through a fence to reach the museum’s tree-lined grounds, smashed a window to enter, and then used an electric saw to cut through the frame mountings.
The entire theft unfolded in minutes, shortly before 6am (5am Irish time), on 8 September.
Earlier this week, reports said five people had been arrested in connection with the investigation.
The museum’s collection includes objects that belonged to Renoir
Mr Masson said an alarm at the museum and the sound of police sirens appeared to force the burglars — whom he described as “well equipped and well informed” about the site — to rush their escape.
They left with a portrait titled “Madame Colonna Romano” and a scene of a woman at a well, “Jeune femme au puits”, his office said.
The two paintings abandoned during the getaway were identified as “Madame Pichon” and “Coco lisant”, which portrays Renoir’s young son Claude reading.
Police said after the break-in that the operation suggested experienced offenders, and that the thieves seemed to have surveyed the premises beforehand.
The Renoir Museum, near the southern city of Nice, occupies the artist’s final home before his death in 1919, when he was 78.
It holds nine of his paintings.
Visitors can also see several sculptures by the painter, along with personal belongings and furniture associated with him, including his easel and wheelchair.
Jewels were stolen from the Louvre in Paris last year
The case comes against a backdrop of repeated thefts from French museums, raising concerns about security and prompting questions over whether organised criminals view such institutions as easy targets.
Last year, crown jewellery valued at about €90 million was stolen in broad daylight from the Louvre in Paris.
Four suspected robbers have been arrested, but the jewels allegedly taken during the seven-minute raid have not been recovered.
In August, Italian police said they had retrieved paintings by Renoir, Cezanne and Matisse worth around €9m, after they were stolen in a three-minute heist from a museum in March.
Earlier this week, a bronze-covered book designed by Spanish surrealist painter Salvador Dali was stolen from an art museum in central France.
