The Theft that Made Mona Lisa’s Smile
Mona Lisa. The most famous painting in the world. What is it about her that is so mystifying? Her eerie smile or her locked gaze? Or rather, the two-year long heist that made her a household face.
A Twisted Love Story
He was in love with her. Something about her smile. The way she mesmerized anyone who locked eyes with her. He needed to have her, so he stole her. Locked her away in his Paris apartment for two years while her face was plastered onto the front page of newspapers all over the world. She became famous, not for her own existence. But because of the mystery of her disappearance. No one truly paid attention until she was gone. A decade later, millions of people flock to the Louvre just to see her sitting patiently on the wall where she belongs. Mona Lisa. The subject of the most infamous art heist in history.
Picture Paris in 1911. The Louvre was a distinguished art museum, home to the works of creative legends. Millions of dollars worth of one-of-a-kind pieces filled the halls and drew in plenty of spectators. Art was important in 1911. A different level of importance than it is today. People looked to art for entertainment, pleasure, emotion. The Mona Lisa was a notable painting before the theft. Only the best got to live inside the Louvre. But even then, many people would never recognize her face, let alone her name. The Louvre should have been a fortress, but it wasn’t. And on August 21, 1911, Vincenzo Peruggia proved this fault.
The Crime
He was previously employed by the Louvre. The museum had recently begun constructing protective glass cases around the art pieces. Ironically enough, Peruggia was hired for assistance in this process.
He dressed in the smock uniform that the Louvre employees were required to wear and hid overnight in the museum on Sunday, the 20th. It was known that the Louvre was closed on Mondays for regular cleaning.
Peruggia had his eyes on the painting and waited for the perfect moment. When the room was empty, he seized the opportunity, removing Mona Lisa and her armor of glass from the wall. He took off his smock and cloaked the white garment over the frame while hastily edging towards the nearest exit. He made a pit stop in a staircase where he freed Mona Lisa from the confines of the glass. Peruggia continued on his route to the door. He was walking at an unassuming pace, but each step felt more like a minuscule nudge towards liberty. He just needed to make it past the door.
He reached the finish line, but couldn’t cross it. The door was locked. He twisted the doorknob with aggression, but it seemed that in the simplicity of a locked door, the Louvre was more of a fortress than as accredited.
But men are easier to fool than metal locks. A fellow employee, a plumber to be exact, noticed Peruggia struggling with the doorknob and offered his assistance. Oblivious of the nature of the thief’s intentions, the plumber unlocked the door and freed Peruggia and his hostage.
The Disappearance Concludes
It took two years for Mona Lisa to float back into existence. Peruggia contacted a Florentine art dealer named Alfredo Geri in hopes of selling the piece to someone in Italy, Peruggia’s native homeland. He claimed that he wanted to return the painting to Italy, where Leonardo da Vinci created it. Peruggia was under the impression that the painting was stolen from Italy during the Napoleonic Era. In actuality, it was purchased by french King Francois I legally in 1516. It is uncertain if Peruggia was telling the truth about his intentions, but the act of patriotism made him a national hero in Italy.
After viewing the painting in person and confirming that it was the true Mona Lisa, Peruggia was reported to the police. The lovers were separated for good, Peruggia in handcuffs and Mona Lisa back in the Louvre. She was a different painting when she returned. No longer was she the Mona Lisa, created by gifted Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci in 1503. Now, she was Mona Lisa, the face everyone knew. Blasted to stardom by the twisted robbery conducted by Vincenzo Peruggia.
A Famous Face
This level of celebrity was unprecedented for a painting. There were art pieces that were well known, no doubt. But people were so charmed by the story of Mona Lisa going missing that it became breaking news in every corner of the world. In today’s society, people are accustomed to seeing new faces and pictures all around them. Social media has made the spread of information easier and faster than ever. Technology saves us, but it desensitizes us in the meantime.
With the dawn of new emerging innovations that came later in the 20th century, public trends and interests shifted. People were given more options with how to spend their free time. The internet unlocked a world of instantaneous satisfaction in the form of videos, pictures, stories, and news. Art is now easily accessible with a quick Google search. You don’t even have to know the name of the painting. Try Googling “mystery smile painting” and just see what pops up.
Before all of this, people had to seek out art, literature, news, or culture. In 1911 there were few ways to lay eyes on The Mona Lisa. Either an image needed to be printed out in a book or paper, or you had to go into the Louvre and stare at her while she stared right back. Art wasn’t available to everyone, making it evermore special.
Was She Special?
Any publicity is good publicity. The validity of this statement is questionable, but Mona Lisa could be the spokesperson for this phrase. The painting wasn’t recognized because of the craftsmanship of the brushstrokes, the complexity of the composition, or the Renaissance techniques that defined the era. She gained exposure from a near-tragedy, the extortion of a masterpiece.
As any other bizarre crime would, the Mona Lisa theft warranted the demand for her face to be seen everywhere. The more people that could recognize her, the more people that could report seeing her.
Though the efforts of spreading the image of the painting around the world did nothing to solve the crime, it did create a legendary art piece and an even more legendary story to go with it. People today know the Mona Lisa by her eerie grin that has caused many arguments about the definition of a smile or frown. Or how her eyes follow you around the room, no matter where you stand. Perhaps, the sheer puzzlement over who the woman in the picture is. None of these features were really illuminated until after the painting was stolen and people saw pictures of it numerous times in news reports.
Had any other painting been stolen, it likely would have been just as famous as the Mona Lisa is now. This crime says a lot about humanity. We love drama. We love crime. We love a mystery.
Mona Lisa Lives On
Today the Mona Lisa remains in the Louvre as one of the most visited art pieces in the world, with 30,000 people absorbing her beauty every day. It would not be as simple to steal her now as you’d have to fight through plenty of guards and a bullet-proof shield. It’s safe to say that the Mona Lisa is probably going to be in the Louvre for quite a while. Her days of escaping her shackles for romantic rendezvous are over.
Mona Lisa was the victim of a fantastic crime, but Vincenzo Peruggia saw it a different way.
“I fell a victim to her smile and feasted my eyes on my treasure every evening…I fell in love with her.”
