PARIS , France ( CNN ) -- A Pablo Picasso sketchbook with 33 pencil drawings disappeared from a locked glass case in a museum in Paris overnight , the French Ministry of Culture announced Tuesday . The sketchbook was discovered missing from the Picasso Museum in Paris overnight . The police were immediately alerted , as was a special unit that combats the trade in stolen cultural artifacts . The sketchbook has a red varnished cover with the word `` Album '' inscribed on it in gold lettering , and measures 16 centimeters by 24 centimeters ( 6 inches by 9 inches ) . Picasso used the sketchbook between 1917 and 1924 when he was in his late 30s and early 40s . The period was extraordinarily eventful for the artist , including collaborations and tours with the Ballets Russes , his marriage to Olga Khokhlova , a dancer from the company , and the birth of his son Paul . Picasso was shifting from the famous Cubist style he helped create to his neo-Classical phase during the years covered by the sketchbook , according a biography on his official Web site . CNN 's Niki Cook contributed to this report .
One of Pablo Picasso drawings missing from the museum , officials said . Special unit that combats the trade in stolen cultural artifacts was alerted . The unit used the sketchbook between 1917 and 1924 . Description : Red varnished cover with ` ` Album '' inscription , 6-by-9 inches .