Swiss police have confirmed that two oil paintings by Pablo Picasso were stolen from an exhibition at the Seedamm-Kulturzentrum cultural centre in Pfaeffikon (Schwyz canton) last Wednesday evening.

The two paintings - 'Verre et pichet' (1944, main photo) and 'Tête de cheval' (1962, below) - which were on loan from the Sprengel Museum in Hannover, are valued at several million euros.

It seems that the robbers, who remain at large, triggered the alarm system when they left the building shortly after 7pm.

This is not the first time works by the Spanish genius have been stolen in Switzerland. Seven went missing from the Bollag art gallery in Zurich in 1994, though they were later recovered and the five perpetrators - one Swiss and four Italians - were jailed for between four to five years.