On this day in 1911, the art world’s premier darling was stolen in broad daylight.
Painted by Leonardo Da Vinci around 1505, the Mona Lisa was renowned as a gem of the Old Masters. Her resemblance to the Virgin Mary, intentional features of the Golden Ratio within her composition, and an illusory smile that vanishes when observed directly allowed for the Mona Lisa to be revered within the art world for centuries.
Although her fame did not become legendary until the 21st century, she enjoyed high praise and admiration by prominent figures of the 20th such as Napoleon and King Francis I of France. To the elite, she was a masterpiece; however, that level of notoriety and value was bound to draw the wrong type of attention— and it did.
On August 21, in the Louvre, an Italian decorator named Vincenzo Peruggia smuggled himself into the restricted area where the Mona Lisa was on display, disguised in a white smock identical to those of the employees. He had been a temporary glazier for the gallery. He took the painting off the wall, wrapped it in the white smock, and simply walked away with it. The unbelievable theft took place around 7 A.M., which explained why, with such ease, he was able to depart undetected.
Perrugia stashed the Mona Lisa in his apartment, and her absence was not noticed until the next day. Due to the painting’s worth, a massive investigation was launched, leading to the arrest and interrogation of two ocean liners, all of the Louvre staff, and even Pablo Picasso. Peruggia, having also been an employee at one point, was also asked to answer questions, but he consistently evaded the police.
Peruggia kept the Mona Lisa in a trunk for the next two years. Publicity surrounding the painting was already high, but the daylight robbery caused it to skyrocket. News gazettes all around Europe mocked the Louvre’s lax security, praised the mystery thief’s cunning, and offered financial awards in return for leads. Many papers published articles describing the strange and almost comedic situation of people flocking to the Louvre to stare at an empty space on the wall.
The chase ended in 1913 when Peruggio, having taken the Mona Lisa to Florence in a supposed attempt to return it to its homeland, attempted to turn it in for a reward. The antique dealer he contacted, Alfredo Geri, alerted the police. Peruggio was then arrested, and the Mona Lisa was reclaimed. The public response to its return was explosive; it was paraded through cities, celebrated in the media, and garnered a crowd of over 30,000 people upon its return to the Louvre.
Although Peruggio was sentenced to a year in prison, he was hailed as an Italian patriot due to his claim that the Mona Lisa was stolen by Napoleon, and his theft was a passionate act of duty. In the end, despite having successfully stolen and kept one of the most famous paintings in the world, he had no profit. Vincenzo Peruggio died in 1925.
