Edgar Degas painting vanishes from Marseilles museum
Les Choristes was amongst one of 20 paintings of the 19th and early 20th century French impressionist artist Edgar Degas showcased at a Marseilles exhibition, local police claimed.
Les Choristes, also known as The Chorus in English, was missing when Catini Museum employees opened the venue on the morning December 31 (Thursday).
Marseille Public Prosecutor Jacques Dallest said the museum showed no signs of forced entry.
Police authorities of the city of the Mediterranean coastal city originally estimated the painting as being worth £26m, although the art appraisal service at the national museum of France later gave it a £710,000 value.
Les Choristes had been lent by Paris’ famous impressionist and post-impressionist dedicated institution of the Musee D’Orsay, as part of a Degas exhibition which was scheduled to finish on January 3 and subsequently be exhibited in Italy and Canada.
French investigators must now go through evidence, including CCTV footage, before allowing the museum to reopen.
Mr Dallest also informed the media that investigators were considering all possible avenues for the theft, including a professional thief, a museum visitor or an insider.
The colourful pastel work of Les Choristes is believed to have been painted around1876 and portrays depicts a line of male performers in the middle of a song.