ART THIEVES MADE HER FAMOUS A LITTLE-KNOWN PAINTING CAUSED WORLDWIDE FRENZY
Tensions were building in Europe as World War I was imminent, and that soon led to suspicions of German interference. 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
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. 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!
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 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.”
Client Story: Tinh P.
Tinh P. and her husband moved to the Columbus area from Southeast Asia at a young age. After their three children started school, Tinh went to work on the assembly line at a large food processing plant. After several years, she noticed the onset of pain in her hands and elbows and was diagnosed with bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome. Following surgery to each wrist, she returned to work, but her condition did not improve. She wore night splints and took appropriate medication but complained of pain in both wrists and experienced numbness and tingling in her middle, ring, and little fingers. Repeat surgeries did not improve her condition. The following year, she slipped on a wet floor and fell, suffering a microfracture of the near inner ear, strains and sprains from her neck to her lower back, and a disc herniation in her neck. Given that surgery failed to improve her wrists, Tinh opted not to undergo surgery for her herniated disc. Instead, her doctors
recommended pain management, including a series of epidural steroid injections. She subsequently developed myofascial pain syndrome in her neck, a condition that results in significant pain and loss of motion. Her employer vigorously fought her treatment and all of the additional conditions. We were successful in overcoming the reports of the hired defense doctors and obtaining approval for the additional conditions and treatment following many hearings over several years. Ultimately, Tinh’s employer inquired about settlement of the claims, and we were able to negotiate a settlement of nearly $200,000, four times higher than the employer’s initial offer. Tinh and her husband have continued to send us Christmas cards each year, telling us how they continue to pray for all of us. It was a blessing and honor to represent her, and it is exciting that her children have gone on to complete professional degrees in medicine and elsewhere.
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