The theft occurred about a month before the announcement of the recovery. The works were taken from the Renoir Museum on the French Riviera, in southern France.
According to accounts reported by BBC World and France 24, the thieves allegedly cut or breached a fence and entered the building through a damaged window or by climbing through one.
Four Renoir paintings were initially taken. Deutsche Welle and France 24 report that two works were abandoned during the escape; the two paintings subsequently recovered are those identified in reports on the recovery.
The value of the four stolen paintings was estimated at more than $10 million, according to Deutsche Welle. France 24, however, described the two recovered paintings as works worth millions of dollars, without providing an individual figure for either one.
Local authorities and the local mayor linked six people to the investigation through arrests or detentions, according to available reports. The accounts do not identify those involved or specify their alleged roles.
It has not been disclosed how the two recovered paintings were located: Deutsche Welle reports that officials praised the people involved in the recovery without explaining the method used to trace the works.
The exact titles, provenance and individual value of the recovered paintings also remain unavailable. The reports do not specify whether the two works abandoned during the escape were recovered earlier or remain in the custody of the authorities.