Thieves had initially taken four pieces with a value of over $10 million, but dropped two as they fled. Officials praised everyone that tracked down the paintings, but didn’t reveal how they found them.
Two paintings by by Pierre-Auguste Renoir that were stolen from a museum in France last month have been found, authorities said on Friday.
Police have arrested six people in connection with the crime.
The two stolen paintings were the Portrait of Madame Colonna Romano (1910) and Jeune fille au puits (1886). Both belong to Paris’ Orsay Museum and were on loan.
“These two paintings are not simply works of art. They are part of our city’s history, our heritage,” said Bryan Masson, the mayor of Cagnes-sur-Mer, where the Renoir Museum is located. “Knowing they have been recovered is an immense relief.”
According to AFP news agency, police have arrested five people so far as part of the investigation. Authorities said at the time of the robbery that it was clear that the thieves were not first-time offenders
The heist followed a string of high-profile robberies from European museums, including the theft of crown jewels from the Louvre in Paris last year.
No details on paintings’ discovery
Authorities did not immediately respond to questions about how the paintings had been recovered. A a press conference had been scheduled for Thursday afternoon, but it was ultimately cancelled in order to not interfere with the investigation.
The robbery took place in the early morning of September 8, when thieves broke into the grounds of the Renoir Museum in Cagnes-sur-Mer through a hole cut in a garden fence and entered through a window.
They had also stolen two other paintings, Madame Pichon and Coco Reading, a portrayal of Claude, Renoir’s young son. But they dropped those in the gardens as they were running away from the police, who had arrived on the scene, alerted by alarms.
“This news is a source of immense joy and a great relief for the town of Cagnes-sur-Mer and its residents,” mayor Bryan Masson said in a statement.
DW News
