Two Renoir paintings stolen from the Renoir Museum in southern France last month have been recovered and six people arrested, local authorities said Friday, according to The Associated Press.
The mayor of Cagnes-sur-Mer, Bryan Masson, issued a statement praising investigators who tracked down the paintings and the suspects but did not provide details about how the recovery was made. Masson announced a news conference later Friday, and the regional prosecutor’s office and local police did not immediately respond to requests for comment, The Associated Press reported.
The two paintings identified as missing and later found were Portrait of Madame Colonna Romano and Young Woman at the Well. Authorities say the thieves cut through a fence, climbed through a window and initially took four valuable Renoir works during the heist, but abandoned two of the paintings while fleeing; investigators then launched a national search for the perpetrators.
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The regional prosecutor’s office said the entire operation at the museum lasted less than three minutes and appeared to target the most valuable works in the collection at the Renoir Museum in Cagnes-sur-Mer.
The theft revived memories of last year’s high-profile theft of crown jewels at the Louvre and has renewed calls for stronger security and more funding for France’s many cultural sites, a concern noted in The Associated Press coverage of the case.
Authorities have not released the identities of the arrested individuals or detailed how and where the recovered paintings were located. Further information was expected following the mayor’s scheduled news conference, The Associated Press said.
