Police in France are investigating after a pair of thieves stole four paintings from the Renoir Museum in Cagnes-sur-Mer the morning of Sept. 8.
According to Bryan Masson, the mayor of the French Riviera city near Nice, the museum's alarm went off at 5:48 a.m. local time and shortly after, municipal police responded to the scene.
The museum was closed at the time of the heist.
Footage shot by city cameras captured two suspects fleeing the scene and abandoning two of the stolen paintings in the museum's garden during their escape, according to information from the city and its mayor.
The perpetrators were being actively sought and the investigation remained ongoing, Masson wrote in a post on Facebook.
The museum, dedicated to the famous French Impressionist
artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir, was his home until he died in 1919.
The city reported two stolen works of art, the painting of "Coco Reading" and the painting of "Madame Stephen Pichon" were the two located.
Later in the day, Masson spoke to reporters outside the museum confirming two of the paintings remained at large.
They were identified as Renoir's painting of "Madame Colonna Romano" and his painting of "Young woman at the well."
"It's Renoir's, it is priceless, you cannot sell it like that," the mayor told reporters.
Masson, who called the art an "invaluable heritage, dear to the hearts of the people of Cagnes-sur-Mer" said he had launched efforts to strengthen the security of the city's museums.
Anyone with information about the case is urged to contact Cagnes-sur-Mer municipal police.
Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on X @nataliealund.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Priceless': 4 paintings stolen from Renoir Museum in France. See which ones
