Marseille takes over investigation into Renoir Museum burglary
The investigation into the theft of paintings from the Renoir Museum in Cagnes-sur-Mer has been transferred to specialist prosecutors in Marseille, as police continue to search for two missing works.
Two burglars broke into the museum early on Tuesday 8 September and removed four of its most valuable Renoir paintings in less than three minutes.
Listen to this article
Two works were abandoned in the grounds, while the other two remain missing.
Burglars targeted museum’s most valuable works
The alarm was triggered at around 5.48am, with municipal police arriving approximately five minutes later.
By then, the two suspects had already fled.
Investigators found evidence that the perimeter fence had been cut and that the fittings securing the paintings had been sawn through.
CCTV footage captured two people inside the museum.
According to the Marseille prosecutor’s office, the four paintings targeted were the most valuable works held by the museum.
Two were recovered in the grounds following the burglary, while two Renoir paintings remain missing.
Sources differ over exactly which works were abandoned during the escape, but Portrait de Madame Colonna Romano, Portrait de Madame Stephen Pichon, Jeune femme au puits and Coco lisant were the four paintings targeted.
The group of works has been estimated by a local official to be worth as much as €9 million.
Stolen paintings difficult to resell
Art experts say the missing paintings would be extremely difficult to sell through the legitimate market because they are well documented and now internationally traceable as stolen works.
Nice auctioneer Agathe Voisin said a stolen painting cannot easily be broken down or transformed in the way jewellery or precious metals can, meaning such works may instead remain hidden for years.
One of the paintings targeted, Coco lisant, has already had a turbulent history.
It was looted during the Nazi era and disappeared for around 50 years before being returned to the Renoir Museum in 1995.
Specialist investigators take over case
The Marseille prosecutor’s office has now opened an investigation into organised theft and criminal conspiracy with a view to committing an organised crime, with the case being handled by the Marseille Specialised Interregional Court, known as the JIRS.
The Grasse prosecutor’s office, which initially opened the investigation, has handed over the case.
Investigators from the Alpes-Maritimes judicial police are working alongside the Central Office for Combating Trafficking in Cultural Property (OCBC), the specialist national unit responsible for crimes involving art and cultural objects.
The two burglars remain at large as the investigation continues into both their identities and the whereabouts of the missing Renoir paintings.