Art heist thieves make off with Renoir paintings worth millions from museum on French Riviera

Thieves made off with two valuable Renoir paintings after breaking into a small museum on the French Riviera early Tuesday, dropping two other stolen works in the garden as police raced to the scene, officials said.

The two thieves cut through a garden fence and entered the Renoir Museum in Cagnes-sur-Mer shortly before 6 a.m., stealing four paintings, Mayor Bryan Masson said.

The alarm sounded at 5:48 a.m. Police arrived five minutes later and chased the thieves, who dropped two of the paintings in the garden before escaping with the other two, according to Masson.

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"Attacking the Renoir Museum is attacking a part of the history and heritage of Cagnes-sur-Mer," Masson said, further calling for tighter security at museums across France.

Surveillance cameras captured two people entering the museum. Police were still looking for them Tuesday.

The four paintings taken included "Portrait of Madame Colonna Romano," "Coco Lisant" and "Young Girl at the Well," according to French newspaper Nice-Matin, which valued the stolen works at about $10.5 million.

A regional police official confirmed the theft and search for the suspects to The Associated Press, but could not confirm the reported value. It was also unclear which two paintings the thieves abandoned as they fled.

The museum remained closed Tuesday while police investigated.

The Renoir Museum is housed in the hilltop estate where French Impressionist Pierre-Auguste Renoir spent the final years of his life and died in 1919.

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The museum, which opened in 1960, sits in Cagnes-sur-Mer between Nice and Cannes on France’s Mediterranean coast. Its collection includes 13 Renoir paintings, about 40 sculptures, furniture and photographs.

Tuesday’s theft follows a series of museum robberies in France, including last year’s theft of crown jewels from the Louvre in Paris.

Thieves stole jewels valued at about $102 million from the Louvre in October, including a tiara that belonged to Empress Eugénie.

Europol said last month that art robberies in Europe have grown more violent and that some thefts once carried out by specialist gangs are now being committed by opportunists recruited through social media.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.