![\"France](\"https://assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com/hub/i/r/2026/10/12/9047cb38-ed29-428a-aa3a-9991728632eb/thumbnail/1240x826/078f1dd18c8f47383a6a62afff2f5daf/ap26285467970644.jpg\")
Stolen Renoir paintings found hidden behind cinder block wall
\nOctober 12, 2026 / 9:43 AM EDT / CBS/AFP
\n\nTwo paintings by impressionist master Pierre-Auguste Renoir, stolen from a museum in southern France and later discovered hidden behind a wall, have sustained slight damage, prosecutors said on Monday.
\nA 29-year-old man seen as the main suspect was charged over the weekend after DNA evidence linked him to the theft.
\nIn September, thieves broke into the museum in Cagnes-sur-Mer and escaped with two works by Renoir, abandoning two others as they fled.
\nThe value of all four paintings had been estimated at $10 million.
\nOn Friday, authorities announced that the two outstanding stolen works had been found.
\nThey were a portrait titled "Portrait of Madame Colonna Romano" and a depiction of a woman at a well called "Young Woman at the Well."
\nSpeaking to reporters in Paris, Marseille prosecutor Nicolas Bessone said the paintings were recovered last Thursday during a search of a home in the southern town of Clermont-l'Herault.
\nThe discovery of the stolen works followed the arrest of six people, including a woman, last Wednesday, said Bessone.
\n"The paintings were hidden behind a solid cinder block wall. They were completely undetectable," Bessone said. "It was through interrogation work that investigators were able to get the receiver of the stolen goods to admit that he had indeed taken possession of the paintings."
\nThe two paintings were "in relatively good condition," although "the two works showed signs of damage," Bessone said, speaking alongside the head of France's national judicial police, Christian Sainte.
\nThe frame of "Young Woman at the Well" was slightly damaged, while "the canvas of 'Portrait of Madame Colonna Romano' had a tear," Bessone said.
\nThe tear was located "on the dress" in the portrait, the prosecutor said, adding that both paintings "will require restoration work."
\nCulture Minister Catherine Pegard praised "the efficiency and determination of all those who made this outcome possible."
\n"Their commitment made it possible to recover these works in record time," the culture ministry said.
\nA spate of heists at French museums — including at the Louvre — has highlighted inadequate security in some cases and led to questions about whether criminal gangs see them as soft targets.
\nCrown jewels valued at around $100 million were stolen in broad daylight from the Louvre in Paris last year.
\nThe suspected thieves have been arrested and charged, but none of the jewels have been recovered except for a crown that was dropped as the group escaped.
\nOther French museums have been targeted in recent months. In July, burglars stole millions of dollars worth of jewelry from the museum of French luxury glassmaker Lalique.
\nIn October 2025, a woman was arrested and charged over the theft of gold from the Natural History Museum in Paris.
\nThe month before that, thieves snatched three porcelain works worth millions of dollars and classed as national treasures in a heist at the Adrien Dubouche National Museum in Limoges in central France.
\nIn:
\n