Vincenzo Peruggia And His Successful Theft Of The ‘Mona Lisa’
Wikimedia CommonsVincenzo Peruggia, the ex-Louvre handyman who made off with the “Mona Lisa.”
Leonardo da Vinci is one of history’s best-known figures for both his scientific and artistic genius. And his most famous painting, the “Mona Lisa,” might not be the iconic masterpiece we know it to be today if not for its brazen theft by ex-Louvre employee Vincenzo Peruggia.
Peruggia was just shy of his 30th birthday when he walked into the Louvre on the morning of Aug. 21, 1911. He aroused no suspicion due to his previous employment as a handyman for the museum, and he was dressed in the uniform smock all employees wore at the time.
He waited until the Salon Carré, the wing in which da Vinci’s surprisingly small painting hung, was empty, and then he simply reached out, lifted the wooden panel off the wall, and carried it into a nearby service staircase. There, he wrapped the 30-by-21-inch painting in his smock, tucked it under his arm, and walked out.
Wikimedia CommonsThe “Mona Lisa” is nearly twice as valuable as da Vinci’s next most valued painting, “Salvator Mundi,” despite being one of his less- accomplished paintings.
Two years later, Peruggia spirited the painting across the Italian border and offered it to Alfredo Geri, a gallerist in Florence, and Peruggia was immediately arrested.
When asked why he’d stolen the now-famous painting, he claimed he’d done so out of patriotism, in the mistaken belief that it had been looted by Napoleon’s troops in the 1790s. The painting was actually given as a gift to the King of France in 1516.
This motivation seemed doubtful anyway, considering that Peruggia asked Geri for money in exchange for the painting. Regardless of Peruggia’s motivation, the “Mona Lisa” was displayed throughout Italy before returning to the Louvre in 1913.
Ironically, when Peruggia stole it, the “Mona Lisa” was one of da Vinci’s least-known, least-impressive, and least-valuable works. Its petty theft changed all that, however. Today, it’s worth at least $860 million, the highest insurance value for any painting in history.
