Pablo Picasso's works are among the art world's most
coveted and tend to attract the notice of thieves. (Getty Images)

The work of Pablo Picasso has proved irresistible to thieves once again, as a valuable notebook full of the Cubist master's sketches has been stolen from his namesake museum in Paris.

Police said Tuesday that the theft of the sketchbook, valued at between $10.4 million to $15 million Cdn, was apparently discovered Tuesday morning. The Picasso Museum closed its doors for the day.

According to the French Culture Ministry, the sketchbook was stolen overnight. According to reports, no alarms were triggered and there were no obvious signs of a break-in at the museum, a former mansion located in the city's Marais district.

The shiny, red, 16-by-24 centimetre book, which bears the word "album" in gold on the cover, contains 33 original Picasso drawings and dates from 1917 to 1924, according to a ministry statement.

The prolific, Spanish-born painter, sculptor and illustrator's creations are among the world's most coveted artworks and a frequent target of thieves.

Over the past decade, Picasso works have been stolen from an exhibit near Zurich in Switzerland; from the Paris apartment of the artist's granddaughter, Diana Widmaier-Picasso; from museums in Sao Paulo, Brazil; from the apartment of a deceased Manhattan collector; and from a Rio de Janeiro museum during Carnival.

According to the London-based Art Loss Register database, there are currently more than 710 Picasso works missing.