Stolen Renoir paintings found behind wall in France following arrests

Renoir art heist suspects were planning ‘imminent’ second robbery, prosecutors say.

The recovered paintings 'Portrait of Madame Colonna Romano', right, and 'Young Woman at the Well' are displayed on Monday [Philippe Magoni/AP]

Two paintings by the impressionist master Renoir which were stolen from a French museum last month have been found damaged behind a false wall in a private home after police made several arrests ahead of what prosecutors say was an imminent second heist.

Marseille prosecutor Nicolas Bessone said six suspects were arrested on Wednesday after authorities discovered they were planning to target the Fondation Maeght in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, home to one of Europe’s largest collections of modern art.

Bessone said the arrests were prompted by the “very strong suspicion that another heist was imminent”.

“We were very clearly looking at the repetition of a criminal scheme”, said Eric Antonetti, the head of the Alpes-Maritimes judicial police.

On September 8, thieves used an electric saw to cut through a fence to enter the Renoir Museum in Cagnes-sur-Mer on the French Riviera, according to investigators.

An alarm sounded and police officers arrived four minutes later, a swift response that “apparently caused the perpetrators to panic,” Bessone said.

The stolen works, “Madame Colonna Romano” and “Young Woman at the Well” by impressionist painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir, were valued at about 4.2m euros ($4.7m), Bessone said.

The thieves also attempted to steal two other Renoir paintings, “Madame Pichon” and “Coco Reading”, which depicts Renoir’s young ‌son ‌Claude. They abandoned them in the museum gardens while fleeing police.

“As they fled, they were unable to take all four paintings and abandoned two of them, which were later found in a protective sleeve,” he said.

Police chiefs speak to reporters in Nanterre on Monday following recovery of the stolen paintings last week [Thomas Samson/AFP]

The paintings were found hidden behind a false wall in a house on Friday. Both works were damaged and will need ⁠restoration. One of the paintings, “Madame Colonna Romano”, had been torn.

“These two paintings are not simply works of art. They are part of our city’s history,” Bryan Masson, the mayor of Cagnes-sur-Mer, near Nice, said on Friday. “Knowing they have been recovered is an immense relief.”

The recovery came almost exactly one month ⁠after the theft, following an investigation that used ⁠DNA evidence, mobile phone geolocation data and surveillance video.

The two key suspects include a 29-year-old, who was charged after investigators recovered DNA from a bag left behind during the getaway.

They ⁠were charged with organised theft and other offences. A third man, accused of hiding the paintings, was charged with organised handling of stolen goods.

A fourth suspect, who investigators say was approached about buying the artworks, was charged ‌with handling stolen goods and taking part in a criminal conspiracy.

Bessone said the suspects had denied planning a second museum raid, but he added that he did “not believe the principal suspect visited that ‌museum simply out of a love of art”.

检察官称，雷诺阿艺术品盗窃案嫌疑人正计划实施“迫在眉睫”的第二次抢劫。

周一展出了被追回的画作《科隆纳·罗马诺夫人肖像》（右）和《井边的年轻女子》。[Philippe Magoni/AP]

上个月从法国一家博物馆被盗的印象派大师雷诺阿的两幅画作，在警方逮捕数人后，在一户私人住宅的假墙后面被发现，但已遭到损坏。检察官称，这是即将发生的第二次盗窃案。

马赛检察官尼古拉斯·贝索内表示，周三，当局发现六名嫌疑人计划袭击位于圣保罗德旺斯的梅格基金会，该基金会拥有欧洲最大的现代艺术收藏之一，随后逮捕了这六名嫌疑人。

贝索内表示，此次逮捕行动是由于“强烈怀疑即将发生另一起抢劫案”。

“我们非常清楚地看到这是一起犯罪计划的重复实施，”滨海阿尔卑斯省司法警察局局长埃里克·安东内蒂说道。

据调查人员称，9 月 8 日，窃贼使用电锯锯断围栏，闯入位于法国里维埃拉卡涅滨海的雷诺阿博物馆。

警报响起，四分钟后警察赶到现场，贝索内说，这种快速反应“显然让作案者惊慌失措”。

贝索内表示，被盗作品是印象派画家皮埃尔-奥古斯特·雷诺阿的《科隆纳·罗马诺夫人》和《井边的年轻女子》，估价约为 420 万欧元（470 万美元）。

窃贼还试图偷走雷诺阿的另外两幅画作，分别是《皮雄夫人》和《可可读书》，后者描绘了雷诺阿的幼子克劳德。他们在逃避警察追捕时将画作遗弃在了博物馆花园里。

他说：“他们逃跑时，没能带走全部四幅画，遗弃了其中两幅，后来这两幅画被装在一个保护套里找到了。”

上周被盗画作被追回后，楠泰尔警方负责人周一向记者发表讲话。[Thomas Samson/AFP]

周五，这两幅画作在一栋房屋的假墙后被发现。两幅画作均已受损，需要修复。其中一幅名为《科隆纳·罗马诺夫人》的画作已被撕毁。

“这两幅画作不仅仅是艺术品，它们也是我们城市历史的一部分，”尼斯附近卡涅滨海市市长布莱恩·马松周五表示，“得知它们已被找回，我们都如释重负。”

经过调查，利用 DNA 证据、手机地理位置数据和监控录像，失窃物品在大约一个月后被追回。

两名主要嫌疑人中包括一名 29 岁的男子，调查人员从逃跑过程中遗留的一个包里提取了 DNA，随后对其提起诉讼。

他们被控有组织盗窃及其他罪行。第三名男子被控藏匿画作，并被控有组织处理赃物。

调查人员称，第四名嫌疑人曾被要求购买这些艺术品，他被指控处理赃物和参与犯罪阴谋。

贝索内表示，嫌疑人否认计划进行第二次博物馆抢劫，但他补充说，他“不相信主要嫌疑人仅仅出于对艺术的热爱而参观那家博物馆”。