Last month, Italian authorities confirmed that three paintings stolen from the Magnani Rocca Foundation in March — a Cézanne, Matisse, and Renoir worth $10 million combined — had all been safely recovered. It was a breath of fresh air to get some good news on the stolen-art front! What with the $100 million worth of French state jewels still at large after last year’s Louvre heist. Plus the smaller-scale theft that happened in the shadow of the Louvre ordeal, when over $100,000 in gold and silver coins were lifted from the Maison des Lumières Denis Diderot in Landres (phew, those bags must’ve been heavy).
So I sincerely regret to inform you that we were only granted three weeks to bask in the glow of art being rescued before the next band of thieves pulled off a new con. The scene of this crime is yet again in France (mon dieu), at the Renoir Museum in Cagnes-sur-Mer, the site of Renoir’s last home where many works and related artifacts from the artist’s life and oeuvre are on display. Until early Tuesday morning when two thieves broke in and carried off four paintings worth about $10.5 million altogether, though two were left behind on the grounds as they made their escape. The mayor of Cagnes-sur-Mer has since promised Renoir fans far and wide that no easel will be left unturned in the pursuit of recovering the stolen treasures.
At around 5:48 a.m. local time on Tuesday, Sept. 8, two individuals entered the museum and stole four paintings from the Renoir collection. The suspects fled the scene after the alarm sounded, alerting the police, the town’s mayor, Bryan Masson, announced on Facebook.
The suspects allegedly broke into the museum gardens and “entered through the ground floor” of the venue. They left behind two of the stolen paintings while rushing to escape during the alarm, Masson said at a press conference, translated from French.
“A well-equipped and well-informed team broke into the Renoir Museum gardens,” he said. “They cut through a section of the fence and entered via the garden; the security system … was triggered, simultaneously alerting both the National Police and the Municipal Police.”
“The Municipal Police arrived in under five minutes,” Masson continued. “That brief window of time likely rattled the burglars… They fled through the gardens, apparently dropping two of the artworks in the process.”
Masson said the police’s short arrival time was “crucial” in preventing a larger theft. The suspects have not been caught.
While escaping, the individuals abandoned two of the stolen paintings “in the gardens of the Renoir Museum,” Masson told the French outlet Nice-Matin.
The stolen paintings from the twelve-piece collection include “Portrait of Madame Colonna Romano,” “Coco Lisant” and “Young Girl at the Well,” CBS News reported. The artworks are reportedly worth approximately $10.5 million altogether.
The suspects were allegedly wearing combat gear and carrying an electric knife and hacksaw, BBC reported.
In an update shared on Facebook on Tuesday, Masson confirmed that “two Renoir works are still being searched for.”
“Attacking the Renoir Museum is attacking a part of the history and heritage of #CagnesSurMer,” Masson said, per CBS News. “These events are particularly serious. They also confirm the urgent need to implement the comprehensive plan to secure our museums and protect our works of art, a plan to which I have committed.”
“We will dedicate all necessary resources to better protect this heritage, which belongs to all the residents of Cagnes,” he added.
Shortly after the Louvre heist, the museum’s director did her best Eeyore impression and essentially said it was only a matter of time before grand theft arto occurred. The problem? Updating the historic building with 21st century security infrastructure costs serious le fric, which no one seems to want to spend. And I get it — with all the problems of the world today, doling out millions in funds to renovate museums can easily be pushed down the list. I guess the question is twofold: are these museums truly deploying the best security measures available to them now within their budgets, and if they are, then how many heists will it take until serious (meaning: expensive) upgrades are implemented? Just please please please, don’t tell me that the Renoir Museum’s security network password was… “Renoir.” (iykyk)
Photos Credit Getty Images and via Wikimedia, cagnes-tourisme.com
Don’t be silly, they had a strong password: Renoir123
Or the security chief’s birthday.
Renoir has been receiving quite a lot of renewed attention ever since a small indie game that featured a romanticized version of him and his family came out last year : Clair Obscur Expedition 33. It kind of blew up (the game is really good and the inspiration from Renoir’s style is breathtaking). The thing is, our government keeps cutting through fundings for museums, the ministry of culture and everything else basically. That also includes how to properly keep them safe.
I went to the Musee des Beaud Arts in Lille back in June after reading a book about an art thief. I noticed that they had a volunteer stationed in every room! And this was just a random Wednesday.
I work at an art museum (in education, not security). Staff is aware that there have been upgrades in security – a few cases were moved away from windows, more security staff has been hired, contractors are no longer given staff IDs and must be accompanied by staff in all non-public areas outside of their particular worksite (other than the staff cafeteria), etc. I am sure there have been other upgrades that we have not seen/been told about. Museums are taking this all very seriously, to the extent that they are financially able to do so.
Well, good to know they have a plan. Sigh. C’mon, folks, you know what you’ve got & you darned well know how to protect it!!
Why has it become so easy to steal paintings from the Louvre? I don’t think the Metropolitan Museum or Art in Manhattan has this problem.