French investigators have recovered two paintings by Pierre-Auguste Renoir worth a combined €4.2 million (US$4.7 million) after DNA evidence, vehicle-tracking data and surveillance helped identify suspects in a theft from a museum on the French Riviera.
Marseille prosecutor Nicolas Bessone announced the recovery on Monday, Oct. 12, nearly a month after the artworks were stolen from the Musée Renoir in Cagnes-sur-Mer. Both Portrait of Madame Colonna Romano and Young Woman at the Well were discovered concealed behind a false wall beneath a staircase in a private home.
Police arrested six people in connection with the heist before discovering the hidden paintings. Four men have received preliminary charges, while two others were released without charge. The two men suspected of carrying out the theft were placed in pretrial detention; the other two accused men were released under judicial supervision.
The paintings belong to the Musée d’Orsay in Paris and had been loaned to the Musée Renoir. Both were damaged while out of the museum: Portrait of Madame Colonna Romano has a tear, and Young Woman at the Well sustained slight damage to its frame, Bessone said.
DNA led to an earlier case
Investigators found DNA on a protective cover abandoned during the burglary. The sample matched a 29-year-old man who was already under investigation in a separate drug-trafficking case, Bessone said. Police had been tracking the man’s vehicle as part of that earlier inquiry.
The surveillance provided a lead beyond the DNA match. Location tracking showed that the 29-year-old and a 41-year-old companion went to a third suspect’s home shortly after the heist. Investigators later found the Renoirs at that address, according to the prosecutor.
The third suspect acknowledged receiving the paintings and hiding them behind the wall beneath the staircase, Bessone said. The group allegedly attempted to sell the paintings to a fourth man. He acknowledged seeing photographs of the works but said he had not immediately recognized them.
Reuters reported that investigators also used mobile-phone geolocation data and surveillance footage. The four men now face different allegations: the two suspected burglars were charged with organized theft and criminal association, among other offenses; the man accused of hiding the works was charged with organized handling of stolen goods; and the fourth suspect was charged with handling stolen goods and participating in a criminal conspiracy.
The two alleged burglars have denied wrongdoing, Bessone said. The charges are preliminary, and the allegations have yet to be tested in court.
A museum visit raised alarms
The investigation took on added urgency after police surveillance showed that the 29-year-old visited the Maeght Foundation in Saint-Paul-de-Vence on Oct. 3. The foundation, which opened in 1964, holds a collection of modern art that includes works by Pierre Bonnard, Georges Braque and Alberto Giacometti.
Investigators also linked the man to the fourth suspect, who was known to police from art-theft and forgery cases in 2001 and 2003. Bessone said authorities accelerated the arrests because they had a “very strong suspicion that another heist was imminent.”
Prosecutors did not say a second burglary had occurred. But Bessone said the visit and the suspects’ contacts raised concern that another museum could be targeted. The main suspect denied planning a second theft, though the prosecutor said he did not believe the museum visit was simply motivated by a love of art.
The possible second target remains an allegation, separate from the charges related to the recovered paintings.
Damage and security questions
The recovered works will need conservation attention because of the damage sustained during the theft. At the recovery announcement, the paintings were displayed at Marseille’s Interdisciplinary Centre for the Conservation and Restoration of Heritage.
The Musée Renoir occupies the house where the Impressionist painter lived until he died in 1919. It is one of the best-known attractions in Cagnes-sur-Mer, between Cannes and Nice.
The case has also renewed attention to security at cultural sites across France, following other high-profile art and heritage thefts. Christian Sainte, head of France’s judicial police, said museums recorded 23 thefts in 2025 and about 10 so far in 2026. He warned that organized criminal groups target valuable cultural objects in museums, castles, places of worship, private homes and art galleries.
The figures point to a broader vulnerability: valuable works are not only at risk in major national institutions, but also in smaller museums, historic houses and private collections. For the Musée Renoir, the case is likely to prompt questions about how loaned works are protected outside their home institution.
The paintings will now undergo conservation work before any decision on their return to public display.