When “Mona Lisa” Was Stolen In 1911 And The Police Questioned Picasso
The Mona Lisa, or La Gioconda, is arguably “the best known, the most visited, the most written about, the most sung about, the most parodied work of art in the world.” This half-length portrait of Lisa Gherardini, created by the Italian Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci, is not only a one of the most famous paintings in the world, but it also has a rich and sometimes tragic history of misfortune. The most notorious of these incidents occurred on 21 August 1911, when the painting was stolen from its place in the Louvre. This shocking event would captivate the world and bring to light a cast of characters including the legendary artist Pablo Picasso.
The Disappearance of the Mona Lisa
On the morning of 22 August 1911, a French painter named Louis Béroud arrived at the Louvre to work on a piece he was preparing entitled Mona Lisa au Louvre. Béroud, like countless others before him, assumed he would be able to gaze upon da Vinci’s painting. To his shock, the painting was missing. Assuming it had been removed for photography—a common practice for museum advertising—Béroud questioned the guards. After being told it was indeed being photographed, Béroud continued with his own work, only to return several hours later and find the Mona Lisa still absent.
The alarm was raised, and it quickly became apparent that da Vinci's masterpiece had not simply been moved—it had been stolen. The empty space on the wall, where four iron pegs once held the Mona Lisa, marked the site of one of the greatest art thefts of the 20th century. The Louvre promptly closed for a week, and an intensive investigation was launched.
At the time of the theft, the Louvre was not the high-security museum it is today. With no alarm system and only 200 guards to patrol over 400 rooms, the museum was vulnerable to theft. The police, unsure of where to start, began by focusing on those with known criminal histories. Their initial suspicion fell on Géry Piéret, a known thief with a record of stealing artefacts from the Louvre. When Piéret could not be located, investigators turned their attention to his employer, the poet Guillaume Apollinaire.
Picasso and Apollinaire: Victims of Suspicion
Apollinaire, a notable figure in the Parisian art scene and an influential precursor to the Surrealist movement, had publicly declared that the Louvre should be burnt to the ground—comments that now came back to haunt him. Apollinaire was promptly arrested, and under intense scrutiny, he named his friend, the Spanish painter Pablo Picasso, as someone who might be involved.
Picasso was thrust into the investigation due to an unfortunate prior association. Some years earlier, Picasso had unwittingly purchased stolen artefacts—two Iberian stone heads—from Piéret, who had stolen them from the Louvre. Although Picasso had no knowledge of their illicit origins, this connection was enough to make him a suspect in the Mona Lisa theft. The artist, renowned for his avant-garde contributions to modern art, found himself humiliated and terrified of being implicated in the scandal.
After several weeks of intense questioning, both Apollinaire and Picasso were eventually cleared of any wrongdoing. The real culprit remained elusive, until, after two years of mystery and speculation, the truth finally emerged.
The Real Thief: Vincenzo Peruggia
The man behind the theft was Vincenzo Peruggia, an Italian national who had worked at the Louvre. Peruggia’s crime was a masterstroke of simplicity and cunning. He had hidden inside the museum overnight, concealing himself in a broom cupboard. Then, during the early morning hours, he simply walked out of the Louvre with the Mona Lisa hidden under his coat. It was almost too incredible to believe that such a famed artwork could be stolen in broad daylight without raising suspicion.
Peruggia’s motive, he claimed, was patriotic. Believing that Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece belonged in an Italian museum, Peruggia intended to return it to Italy. He considered it a travesty that the painting had left Italy, despite the fact that da Vinci had sold the piece to the French King Francis I upon moving to France to serve as a court painter. Some investigations suggested that Peruggia’s motives may not have been entirely nationalistic—he was reportedly in league with an art dealer who planned to sell forgeries of the painting, and the disappearance of the real Mona Lisa would only drive up their value.
For over two years, Peruggia kept the Mona Lisa hidden in his modest Paris apartment. His eventual downfall came when he attempted to sell the painting to the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. The gallery’s directors immediately recognised the masterpiece and contacted the police. After a brief period of public exhibition in Italy, the Mona Lisa was returned to the Louvre on 4 January 1914. Peruggia, though sentenced to six months in prison, was celebrated as a patriot in Italy, where many lauded him for his intentions.
The Impact of the Theft
Ironically, the theft of the Mona Lisa brought it a level of fame it had not previously enjoyed. Although it had always been a celebrated work within art circles, its disappearance and the international scandal that ensued turned it into a global phenomenon. The Mona Lisa became a household name, immortalised not only as a symbol of artistic brilliance but also as a cultural icon.
Subsequent Attacks and Attempts at Theft
Though the Mona Lisa was safely returned to the Louvre, its tumultuous history did not end there. In the decades following the 1911 theft, the painting suffered several attacks.
In 1956, the painting was damaged twice. First, a vandal threw acid at the painting, causing damage to the lower portion of the artwork, including a part near Mona Lisa's left elbow. Later that year, on 30 December, a rock was thrown at the painting, further damaging the left elbow area. Fortunately, the damage was quickly restored, preserving the integrity of the masterpiece.
Another serious incident occurred in 1974, when the painting was on display at a special exhibition at the Tokyo National Museum. A woman, frustrated by the museum's policies regarding disabled access, sprayed red paint at the painting. Luckily, by this time, the Mona Lisa was protected by bulletproof glass, and the attack caused no harm.
In 2009, a Russian woman—angry that her application for French citizenship had been denied—threw a teacup at the painting, which she had purchased from the Louvre’s gift shop. Again, the protective glass encasing the Mona Lisa prevented any damage.
Other Theft Attempts
Throughout the years, there have been various unsuccessful attempts to steal the Mona Lisa once again. None, however, have succeeded since Peruggia’s brazen heist in 1911. The painting now remains one of the most heavily guarded and secured artworks in the world, its history of theft and vandalism only adding to its mythos.
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