August 21, 1911

On August 21, 1911 in perhaps one of the most brazen art thefts of all time, Vincenzo Peruggia walks into the Louvre in Paris, France, heads straight for the Mona Lisa, removes it from the wall, hides it beneth his clothes, and escapes. Peruggia was arrested in November 1913, when he attempted to retrieve a hefty ransom. The painting was unharmed.



Mona Lisa (also known as La Gioconda) is a 16th century portrait painted in oil on a poplar panel by Leonardo Da Vinci during the Italian Renaissance. The work is owned by the French government and hangs in the Musée du Louvre in Paris, France with the title Portrait of Lisa Gherardini, wife of Francesco del Giocondo.



The painting is a half-length portrait and depicts a woman whose expression is often described as enigmatic.The ambiguity of the sitter's expression, the monumentality of the half-figure composition, and the subtle modeling of forms and atmospheric illusionism were novel qualities that have contributed to the painting's continuing fascination. Few other works of art have been subject to as much scrutiny, study, mythologizing and parody.