Recovered Renoirs sent for examination as investigators describe possible second target

Two paintings by Pierre-Auguste Renoir stolen from the Renoir Museum in Cagnes-sur-Mer, France, have been recovered and sent to Marseille for examination, the French Ministry of Culture said on 12 October. Investigators also say a suspect visited another art institution before the arrests, raising the possibility of a second planned theft. The suspects deny planning another raid.

The recovered works are Portrait de Madame Colonna Romano and Femme au puits. Both were deposited at the Cagnes-sur-Mer museum by the Musée d’Orsay, according to the ministry. Their recovery follows the 8 September break-in, during which thieves took the two paintings and abandoned two other Renoirs in the museum grounds as they fled, investigators said.

Where the stolen Renoir paintings were found

The paintings were discovered on 8 October behind a false wall in a private home in Clermont-l’Hérault, Marseille prosecutor Nicolas Bessone said, according to AFP reporting carried by Le Figaro. That was one month after the theft. Bessone valued the two recovered works at about €4.2 million ($4.7 million), according to an AP report carried by Al Jazeera.

The museum alarm sounded during the break-in. Bessone said the quick arrival of responding officers appeared to make the thieves panic, according to Al Jazeera’s report. Investigators subsequently used DNA, mobile-phone geolocation and surveillance video in the inquiry, the report said.

Why investigators mentioned the Fondation Maeght

Investigators said the 29-year-old principal suspect visited the Fondation Maeght in Saint-Paul-de-Vence on 3 October. Alpes-Maritimes judicial police chief Eric Antonetti described the visit as evidence of a possible repeat criminal plan, according to AFP. The foundation, which holds a major modern-art collection, was the institution investigators thought might have been targeted next.

That assessment does not establish that a second theft was attempted. Bessone said the suspects denied planning another museum raid, Al Jazeera reported. He also said he did not believe the principal suspect had visited the Fondation Maeght simply out of a love of art. The alleged plan therefore remains an investigators’ account disputed by the suspects.

Examination in Marseille before a possible return

The Ministry of Culture said the recovered paintings were transferred to Marseille’s Interdisciplinary Centre for Conservation and Restoration of Heritage. Specialists there will examine them and undertake restoration if needed, under the scientific responsibility of the Musée d’Orsay. The ministry did not announce a date for the works’ return to Cagnes-sur-Mer.

Al Jazeera reported that the paintings were damaged and that Portrait de Madame Colonna Romano was torn. The ministry’s statement made any restoration work conditional on the examination. The cited accounts do not establish the full extent of the damage or what work specialists will determine is necessary.

The ministry identified both paintings as MNR works, a French category associated with recovered works. It said they could return to the Cagnes-sur-Mer museum after examination and any necessary conservation. Culture Minister Catherine Pégard said the return should be coordinated with the Musée d’Orsay, Cagnes-sur-Mer and the Renoir Museum teams.

Cagnes-sur-Mer mayor Bryan Masson called the paintings part of the city’s history and said their recovery brought immense relief, according to Al Jazeera. Pégard thanked the investigators, police, museum teams and municipal services involved. For the museum, the next confirmed step is the examination in Marseille; the ministry has left the timetable for displaying the paintings again open.