On 8 September a group of thieves broke into the Renoir Museum in Cagnes‑sur‑Mer, cutting through a fence and smashing a window to seize four works of art. The two most prized pieces – Auguste Renoir’s Portrait of Madame Colonna Romano (1910) and Jeune fille au puits (1886) – were dropped in the museum’s garden as the gang fled, allowing police to recover them a month later.
The local mayor praised authorities for the swift recovery and described the paintings as “part of our city’s history, our cultural heritage and the legacy Auguste Renoir left to Cagnes‑sur‑Mer.” Six suspects have been arrested in connection with the robbery, the town hall confirmed.
The heist comes amid a string of high‑profile thefts across Europe. Earlier this year, Renoir, Cézanne and Matisse works were stolen from a museum near Parma and recovered in August, while the Louvre in Paris suffered a jewel‑theft raid in October 2025.
The Renoir Museum, opened in 1960, houses 12 of the painter’s works plus personal artifacts such as his easel, wheelchair, photographs and letters. The recovery of the two canvases marks a significant victory for French cultural heritage and highlights the ongoing need for rigorous security measures in art institutions worldwide.
