In the early 1500’s, Leonardo Da Vinci painted a portrait of Lisa Gherardini, the wife of an Italian noble. It became known as the “Mona Lisa” and is now the most famous painting in the world. People ask what makes it such a masterpiece. Some point out the eyes that seem to follow you wherever you are. Others argue it is the enigmatic smile. You can argue why it is a masterpiece, but the reason it is the most famous painting is due to an incident on July 21, 1911. The day before, an Italian handyman (and petty criminal) named Vincenzo Peruggia entered the Louvre to work on installing glass cases for art works, including the Mona Lisa. He hid in a closet when the museum closed and removed the painting from its frame. Hiding it under his coat, he walked out the next day. He hid it in a trunk in his apartment. It took 24-hours to even notice it was missing. It was the worldwide press coverage of the theft and the investigation that made the painting super famous. The newspapers loved to roast the inept French police efforts to solve the crime. At one point, Picasso was a suspect. Peruggia was interviewed twice, but cleared because they just could not believe he was capable of doing it. In 1913, Peruggia (using the name “Leonardo”) contacted an art dealer in Florence and offered to return the work to Italy for a reward of 500,000 lire. When he arrived at the deal site with the painting in a suitcase, he was arrested on Dec. 12, 1513. He claimed his goal was not the money, but to return the painting to its native Italy. He was considered a hero by many Italians and only served seven months in jail.
https://www.cnn.com/2013/11/18/world/europe/mona-lisa-the-theft/index.html
https://www.historytoday.com/archive/months-past/mona-lisa-stolen-louvre
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