At least five people have been arrested in France in connection with the theft of several paintings by Pierre-Auguste Renoir last month, local media reported, quoted by the BBC. It is believed that the two alleged perpetrators of the robbery are among those detained, BTA adds.
Two of the masterpieces stolen from the Renoir Museum in Cagnes-sur-Mer, a suburb of Nice, have not yet been found. Two other works were abandoned by the thieves as they hurried to leave the museum. The robbery is the latest in a series of high-profile art thefts in Europe that have put security at galleries and museums under scrutiny.
The suspects cut through a fence to enter the museum's wooded grounds at sunrise on September 8, then smashed a window to force their way inside and used a power saw to cut through the frame's fasteners. The two missing paintings are “Portrait of Madame Colonna Romano“ (1910) and “Girl at the Well“ (1886).
At least five arrested over Renoir museum theft https://t.co/ULGX3qVO75
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According to the newspaper „Nice Matin", which first reported the arrests, the suspects may be part of an organized crime group. Some French media, including „Nice Matin", claim that the number of detainees is actually six. The local prosecutor's office has refused to confirm the arrests to the BBC.
The Renoir Museum houses 12 of the famous artist's works. Opened in 1960, it was Renoir's last refuge before his death in 1919. It also houses a number of items that once belonged to him, including his easel and wheelchair, as well as photographs and personal letters.
In recent months, several European museums and galleries have been the target of major robberies. In August, paintings by Renoir, Paul Cézanne and Henri Matisse were stolen from a museum in Italy in a lightning-fast robbery that lasted just three minutes. They were later recovered.
One of the most famous such incidents occurred in October last year, when the French royal jewels were stolen in broad daylight from the Louvre in Paris. The thieves, disguised as construction workers, broke into the Apollo Gallery“ on the first floor of the Louvre during the museum's opening hours. Using an angle grinder to open the display cases, they made off with 88 million euros worth of jewelry that once belonged to 19th-century queens and empresses. The Louvre has since come under heavy criticism for its lack of investment in security, the BBC recalls.