“This morning, two individuals broke into the Renoir Museum and stole four works of art,” said
Bryan Masson, the far-right mayor of the town of Cagnes-sur-Mer.

“Spotted thanks to the town’s video surveillance cameras, the two individuals fled, abandoning one of the stolen paintings as they ran,” he said, adding his office estimated the value of the stolen works at €9 million ($17.8m).

The Renoir Museum was opened in 1960 in the painter’s last home before he died in 1919.

Its collection includes objects and furniture that belonged to Renoir, including his easel and wheelchair, as well as portraits, landscapes and nudes painted by the artist.