Five minutes to steal a Renoir: Why museum thefts are becoming bolder across Europe

When thieves broke into a French museum earlier this week and stole four paintings by the impressionist artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir, worth millions of euros, not everyone was surprised.

Key points

• Slide 1 of 10, Painting of 'Madame Colonna Romano' by French painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir, 'Madame Colonna Romano' (1910) by French impressionist artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir End of image gallery.
• For example, the Denis Diderot Maison des Lumières (House of Enlightenment) – burgled hours after the Louvre – is housed in two 18th-century mansions in Langres.
• Data provided to the BBC by ARCA demonstrates recorded museum thefts in France spiked in 2024, and rose again slightly in 2025.
• Both Brand and Ibrahim Bulut, a museum security expert from a Belgian security consulting firm, believe plenty of thefts that followed the Louvre burglary are copycats.
• After its theft in October, Maison des Lumières introduced a security audit carried out by police officers appointed by France's cultural ministry, mayor Caviezel states.

Just last month, the European policing agency (Europol) had cautioned that museum thefts throughout Europe were growing increasingly brazen.

And just days before the Renoir heist, internationally known art detective Arthur Brand predicted to the BBC that more high-profile burglaries were probable – particularly after the successful robbery at the Louvre in Paris last October.

Notably, the audacious crime in one of the world's most famous museums stunned France, and the stolen jewellery worth €88m (£75m) has still not been recovered, almost a year on.

"We will see more of this, " notes Brand, "because if you are able to hit the Louvre, thieves all around the world are watching that, thinking, 'Wow' – and then they think, 'Don't we have a local museum with gold and silver?'".

Within hours of the Louvre burglary, thieves had raided coins from a smaller museum in France. Since then, criminals have stolen a diamond necklace in Vienna, Bronze Age artefacts in Spain, and art from two Italian museums – and that's only what the BBC has written regarding.

In practice, the heist at the Renoir Museum in Cagnes-sur-Mer is the latest, and detectives are still working to track down the remaining multi-million-pound paintings – two of which were rapidly recovered after thieves dropped them in the museum garden.

Europol tells the BBC the number of museum theft cases documented to them throughout Europe began to growth concerning two years ago.

As in the Louvre case, a focus on high-value items such as precious metals and gemstones, its recent report notes both the methods and targets of thefts are changing – with a rise in more forceful tactics, and.

"Every museum in the world is stressing now, " Brand notes. "In every museum there have been meetings with the security officer or with the police." From tiaras to Bronze Age rings: Stolen museum treasures.

Notably, the Association for Research into Crimes against Art (ARCA) notes the recent thefts show "a repeated preference for small, portable, immediately accessible objects and for attacks designed to be completed in minutes".

Nevertheless, numbers go up and down over time, with more thefts recorded in 2015 than a decade afterwards.

These crimes threaten what plenty of consider invaluable artefacts of historical and cultural value enjoyed by the public – although some residents argue they steal "from the rich, who cares?" Brand notes.

Others point out the colonial history behind plenty of treasures in European museums, with art historians highlighting the French crown jewels stolen from the Louvre contained emeralds, diamonds, sapphires and pearls which are not native to France. Why are museums being targeted?

Museums are vulnerable and straightforward to burgle, Brand states, compared to well-secured jewellery shops and banks – which these days hold less cash.

Directors historically "never have enough money for security" or prefer to spend it on the next exhibition, and museums are often housed in old buildings that are tough to protect, he adds.

"We therefore have to reconcile modern security requirements with the need to preserve historic buildings and comply with France's heritage regulations, " local mayor Théo Caviezel explains.

Museums are additionally open public spaces that have less access control and perpetrators can come in as visitors, states Kumar Sokka, CEO of Acre Security which works with some museums in Europe.

And even if a museum is secured well, thieves could still come in armed, Brand notes, adding that it would be impractical to put police in galleries.

Plenty of of these burglaries are over in minutes and the thieves have long gone by the time police show up – the Renoir case happened within five minutes.

Heists applied to depend on deception, but burglaries are now becoming increasingly violent, Europol's report last month, external points out. Offenders are using tools such as sledgehammers, axes, crowbars and, in some instances, explosives, to obtain inside.

In the Louvre, the thieves applied a mechanical lift to gain access, cut through the window with power tools and then threatened guards. This person left, before forcing their way inside displays and grabbing the jewels. In the Renoir case, the perpetrators applied an electric knife to cut through a fence before sawing through structures holding the paintings' frames in place. The rose aggression creates new security worries.

"An armed incident during opening hours, like the one we experienced, creates a situation in which the immediate priority is to keep our audience and staff safe, " notes Lilli Hollein, the director of the Museum of Applied Arts (MAK) in Vienna. It was burgled last month.

What is being stolen is additionally changing. While paintings are still taken, they're harder to sell, so around 10 years ago, thieves began shifting to goods that are easier to obtain rid of, Brand states.

Now precious metals, gemstones, and culturally significant artefacts including Chinese porcelain are increasingly targeted, according to Europol's report.

"Precious metals can be easily melted down, leaving no trace for law enforcement, and facilitating illicit sales during the fencing process, " it notes. "Precious stones in jewellery, on the other hand, can be easily removed and sold further."

Meanwhile, Chinese porcelain is projected to be easily sold on the art market as of high demand, Europol notes.

After a theft, police generally have between four to six days to catch the thieves, according to Brand. This person works with investigators by calling informants and receiving tips from the public or even ex-partners of perpetrators.

But while suspects may be arrested, jewels or precious metals might not be discovered – such as with the Louvre case.

By contrast, Brand believes the Renoir paintings stolen this week – two of which were dropped by the thieves on their way out – "will probably be recovered" since "no one will want to buy" them and "it is likely, then, that the thieves have no idea what to do with them".

Christopher A. Marinello, the boss of Art Recovery International that recovers stolen art, notes only 5-10% of stolen art is ever recovered, making thefts from small museums like this week's "extra painful".

Tuesday's heist is another example of "Europe's museums under siege", he adds. So how can museums be protected?

While other structural improvements are in the process of being developed, some recommendations are already being implemented, such as enhanced video surveillance.

MAK in Vienna additionally climbed its security to prevent "copycat offenders and to provide our audience with visible security", its director notes. Entry is through a metal detector, and bags must be put in the cloakroom or in lockers, and there are more security guards.

Experts say the trick is to create physical barriers that will delay thieves so there is time for the police to arrive, or to create any theft take so long that it would deter would-be offenders from attempting it.

For now, five minutes to steal a Renoir: Why museum thefts are becoming bolder remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.