Police say five paintings including masterpieces by Picasso and Matisse have been stolen from a Paris museum.

A Paris police official says the paintings were reported missing early Thursday at the Paris Museum of Modern Art. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the preliminary investigation is still under way.

The official said the paintings were by Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, George Braque, Amedeo Modigliani and Fernand Leger.

Police and investigators have cordoned off the museum, across the Seine River from the Eiffel Tower.

A woman who answered the phone at the museum said questions about the theft would only be answered by the office of Paris mayor Bertrand Delanoe.