ART THIEVES MADE HER FAMOUS On Aug. 21, 1911, Vincenzo Peruggia made history and immortalized a once unnoticed painting. Leonardo Da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa” was stolen long before the iconic painting was heavily secured as it is now. Peruggia and two other Italian handymen stole the now-infamous portrait from the Louvre. What ensued is one of the most internationally followed thefts of modern times. The Louvre was shut down for nearly a week amid the frenzy but soon reopened with an empty space where the “Mona Lisa” once hung, bringing in countless spectators. It actually took an entire 28 months before the painting was finally returned. When Peruggia and his crew could not sell the picture due to the sheer magnitude of the investigation, they tried one last-ditch effort over a year A Little-Known Painting Caused Worldwide Frenzy
later to sell it, only for them to be reported and finally arrested. His sentence? Eight months in prison! After his capture, the art thief changed his story from looking to sell the painting to wanting to return the “Mona Lisa” to her country of origin as a symbol of national pride. Noah Charney, a professor of art history and author, explained that the theft made the “Mona Lisa” famous. “There was nothing that really distinguished it per se, other than it was a very good work by a very famous artist — that’s until it was stolen,” Charney detailed. “If a different one of Leonardo’s works had been stolen, then that would have been the most famous work in the world — not the ‘Mona Lisa.’”
Historian James Zug shared with National Public Radio the odd nature of Peruggia’s choice of art, as “the ‘Mona Lisa’ wasn’t even the most famous painting in its gallery, let alone in the Louvre.” The painting was so inconspicuous that it took a whole 28 hours before anyone realized it was missing. Headlines ran worldwide of the mysterious theft and even pointed suspicion at the famous American art lover and tycoon J.P. Morgan and renowned artist Pablo Picasso! Tensions were building in Europe as World War I was imminent, and that soon led to suspicions of German interference.
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