Rodin statue stolen from Israel Museum

(AP)

A statue by the French sculptor Auguste Rodin has been stolen from the Israel Museum during renovations, the museum said yesterday.

The nude bronze of the French novelist Honoré de Balzac was one of a series of four studies that Rodin cast for a monument to Balzac on display in Paris. It was donated to the museum in Jerusalem in 1966 by the Jewish-American impresario and lyricist Billy Rose.

The museum said the theft was discovered three months ago and reported to police, who are investigating. The work was moulded in 1892 and weighs 140lb.