Two Picasso paintings worth £34 million have been stolen from the home of the painter’s grandaughter in an exclusive part of Paris.

A portrait of the Spanish artist's daughter, ‘Maya with Doll’, and one of his second wife, Jacqueline, were taken at 4am on Tuesday morning.

It is believed that Diana Widmaier-Picasso was asleep in the second floor apartment in the upmarket seventh arrondissement of the French capital at the time and police do not yet know how the burglars managed to get in as there are no obvious signs of a break-in.

It may be that the paintings were stolen to order as other works of art by Picasso, including drawings, were left untouched.

The director of the Picasso Museum, Anne Baldassari, said: “It was a very large theft”.

A spokesman for the Picasso family lawyer told Times Online: “The paintings were taken at 4am. We know it was then because someone heard a noise at that time.

“They only took the two paintings. There were other Picasso paintings there but they did not take them. The apartment is on the second floor and we do not know how they got in.”

Officers from the Organised Crime Squad of the Paris police force are investigating.

A police spokesman said the two stolen paintings were Maya a la poupee (Maya with doll) (1938) and Portrait de femme, Jacqueline (1961).

Maya Widmaier-Picasso was Pablo Picasso's second child, born to Marie-Therese Walter, one of his many lovers.

Maya and the Doll is is a colorful portrait of a young blonde girl in pigtails, eyes askew in a Cubist perspective.

Another version of the painting hangs in the Picasso Museum. It portrays Maya Widmaier, the daughter of Picasso and Marie-Therese Walter, his companion from 1924-1944.

Maya married Pierre Widmaier and had three children, Olivier, Richard and Diana, an art historian and author.

Charles Dupplin, art expert at specialist insurer Hiscox, said: "This is another bold move by art thieves. It will be impossible to sell these iconic works in the open market.

"In recent years we have seen some evidence of stealing to order in various European countries. This may well be what is happening here"

The Art Loss Register, which maintains the world’s largest database on stolen, missing and looted art, currently lists 444 missing Picasso pieces, including paintings, lithographs, drawings and ceramics. Among recent missing Picassos reported to the register was an abstract watercolor stolen in Mexico,

Antonia Kimbell, from the Register, said that the number of missing Picassos is so high simply because he was so prolific.

She said the Paris theft was “definitely quite significant”.

“Anything of particularly good quality, with the provenance of his granddaughter, would reach considerable value on the open market."

But she added that major pieces, when stolen, usually sold for a small amount, if at all, on the black market because potential buyers were afraid to touch them.

“It’s unlikely a legitimate dealer would purchase or acquire any of these pieces,” she said.

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