Memories of Time, When Mona Lisa was Stolen

Before we go into the part where Mona Lisa was stolen, a look at the beginning of the story would surely be helpful. As the revival of different facets of science, arts and literature took place in Europe in what now has become a famous period, known as Renaissance (a period mostly covering 15^th and 16^th century – although some historians prefer to stretch it a century further on either side), the contribution of many scientists, artist, writers came to the forefront.

Among all of these famous personalities – Leonardo da Vinci, was perhaps what could be called – first among equals. An Italian born in the 15^th century; he was truly a gifted polymath. Besides being a brilliant scientist, engineer, architect, sculptor, he was also a brilliant painter. His brilliance in his artistic skills & the legacy that he left behind in this field, is what this article is all about.

Among all his creations as a painter, it is perhaps – Mona Lisa, that is most famous. Mona Lisa – when translated into English is derived from two words - madam/my lady (translation of Mona) and Lisa (the name of Lady, who was the subject for the painting). Although there is some controversy about the identity of the lady in question, there is broad consensus, that it depicts – Lisa del Giocondo, the wife of a rich merchant from Florence, named Francesco del Giocondo.

Leonardo da Vinci started painting Mona Lisa in the year 1503 and worked on it for till 1506 (although some also believe that, he continued to work on it till 1517). The painting was never returned to the Giocondo family but would later be acquired by the French King – Francis I, who purchased it from Salai (da Vinci’s student, who had inherited the painting after his teacher’s death). The painting would become a property of the French royalty & later the republic itself.

So, why is Mona Lisa the most famous painting in the world? Is it the intriguing smile of the lady? Or is it because of a very high insurance valuation of US$ 100 million in the year 1962 (which is around $870 million in the year 2021)? Or this was because it was one of the best examples of Renaissance painting? Or was it because Leonardo da Vinci painted it & anything made by a master is a masterpiece? Or maybe it is because there is still some controversy about the identity of the model behind this painting?

Maybe it was because of all of the above-mentioned reasons, but many of the above facts hold true for most of the other paintings of that era that survive to this day, but hardly have the same recognition. So here we have to add that perhaps the most important reason, which is also the least known reason – is that Mona Lisa was stolen and the events that occurred would make the name of Mona Lisa known to even people, who had no interest in arts or had never been to France.

Questions like - has the Mona Lisa ever been stolen? Or when was the Mona Lisa stolen/ what year was the Mona Lisa stolen, will take us back to memories of a time when there was no internet & the world was a much simpler place & for the better or for worse, small events could lead to major repercussions, which would once again disappear slowly into pages of history with time.

Before we go into the details, 2 questions would arise in the mind of anyone who has not heard about the fact that the Mona Lisa was stolen. These are - When was the Mona Lisa stolen or how many times has the Mona Lisa been stolen?

Now coming to the question of - how many times was the Mona Lisa stolen, the answer would be very standard - only once in 1911. However, if you lived in 1911 and asked the question to Vincenzo Peruggia, he would tell you that it was stolen twice! Now if you don’t know this gentleman, let us inform you that he is the name that figures as an answer to the question, as who stole the Mona Lisa in 1911?

Now you may wonder, why we are addressing a thief as a gentleman? Well, it is because, he was no common thief, but an Italian patriot; who (wrongly) believed that Mona Lisa was stolen from Italy by Napoleon and when he stole it back, he was bringing it back to his own country and correcting a wrong. He believed a painting made by a famous Italian painter, deserves to stay in Italy!

It was rather too late in the story, that Vincenzo Peruggia would realize that Napoleon may certainly be blamed for quite a few things, but stealing Mona Lisa wasn’t one of them. The famous painting landed in France by all fair and square means and rightfully belonged to the French government.

So, when Mona Lisa was stolen in 1911, for the first (and only) time by Vincenzo Peruggia, he was indeed committing a serious crime, which would create ripples around the world. But then how serious were the authorities about the protection of the famous painting? Not much, because the Mona Lisa in 1911 wasn’t yet the Mona Lisa that we know of. Of course, the painting was the same but the name & fame it carried, certainly wasn’t.

Vincenzo Peruggia was working at the Louvre Museum in France at the time of the incident and was entrusted with the responsibility of making a protective glass case for several paintings present in the museum, including the Mona Lisa.  But as we described before, Vincenzo Peruggia had an agenda of his own and hatched a plan to steal the painting (along with 2 accomplices).

The theft of the Mona Lisa has often been described as one of the greatest art thefts of the 20^th century, but the modus operandi used for stealing Mona Lisa, was certainly not what would be expected for such an audacious act. However, the Louvre had more than 400 rooms and with only 200 guards on duty (and much lesser at night time), the security system certainly had its flaws.

When Vincenzo Peruggia, entered the Louvre on 21^st August 1911, it appeared to be no different from other Monday mornings, where the employees of the Louvre Museum were going in for their daily business and no one in the museum was ready for a foul play.

Vincenzo Peruggia, entered the museum around 7 am, along with other regular employees, attired in a white coat, that was routinely worn by all the employees. Nobody around could guess about the sinister plans going on in Vincenzo Peruggia’s mind until it was too late and Mona Lisa was already stolen & carried safely away.

As described earlier Vincenzo Peruggia, as an employee, was quite well versed with the location of different paintings present in the museum and the challenges that would be anticipated in the act of stealing them; however, here he was focused on stealing just one painting and he had a straightforward plan.

He knew that Mona Lisa was hung in an area of the museum known as – Salon Carre. When it was empty, he went in & lifted off the painting from the wall and took it to a service staircase located nearby, and removed the painting from its protective glass cover and frame. It was not too difficult to do, after all, he was the one who built it. 

Once the painting was removed, the next part was to get out from the museum undetected. For this Vincenzo Peruggia would take off his coat (which was then wrapped over the painting) and put it under his arm and walk out of the museum, without arousing any suspicion, through the same door by which he entered in the morning.

So, what happened after Mona Lisa was stolen? Well, almost immediately the crime of the century evoked no response; the gallery workers thought it had been moved for some kind of restoration process. It was only the next day when a painter visited the Louvre to draw a portrait of the masterpiece, that he enquired about its whereabouts. This led to the discovery that the Mona Lisa was stolen.

As the authorities closed the museum for a week to investigate, the whole world was startled, with the news of the theft of the Mona Lisa making headlines across different continents, with newspapers in Great Britain & the United States reporting the news in great detail and sensationalism. Louvre became famous overnight, as more people became intrigued by the fact that Mona Lisa was stolen.

When the Louvre reopened, the museum didn’t fill the space where the Mona Lisa was earlier present. However, people flocked in large numbers to see the empty space, where the painting once was, to experience the daredevil act with their own eyes. As they went back, a part of this rather chilling experience stayed with them.

While Vincenzo Peruggia kept the painting hidden in his apartment in Paris for the next few years, officials investigating the case began to grow desperate, as the incidence slowly began to take shape of a national embarrassment. Random checkpoints were made all around Paris & people evoking suspicion checked.  For some time even the borders of the nation were sealed, but no fruitful results were obtained.

Suspicion soon moved on to famous personalities of the time. The poet Guillaume Apollinaire was arrested on suspicion but was freed after a few days. Incredibly wealthy & art-loving American businessman JP Morgan was also one of those at whom fingers were pointed, however, he was innocent. Even Pablo Picasso was investigated for the crime but was allowed to go when it was confirmed that he was not behind the theft of the Mona Lisa.

With each failure to apprehend the real thief, responsible for the theft of the Mona Lisa, new conspiracy theories began to arise explaining how Mona Lisa was stolen. As time passed the French authorities were slowly coming to terms that they may never recover the stolen Mona Lisa, even though law enforcement agencies of multiple countries across the world were brought in to help with the investigations.

On the other hand, Vincenzo Peruggia, who was passing through financial difficulties despite having a valuable artwork with him, grew impatient. So after almost two years, Vincenzo Peruggia returned to his home country – Italy, with the painting of the stolen Mona Lisa, which till then was hidden in a trunk in his apartment in Paris.

In the year 1913, the owner of an art gallery in Florence – Alfredo Geri received a letter, from a person who claimed that he had stolen the Mona Lisa & offered to return it to its native country Italy in exchange for some kind of financial compensation. Of course, this letter was sent by Vincenzo Peruggia.

Alfredo Geri didn’t believe in the letter but he still contacted the director of Uffizi Gallery in Florence – Giovanni Poggi and told him about the letter. Giovanni Poggi had a collection of photos of the Mona Lisa, which showed some markings on the back of the panel. Thus, he was in a knowledgeable position to authenticate if the stolen Mona Lisa brought to them was real or not.

Sometime later Vincenzo Peruggia again contacted Alfredo Geri, mentioning that he was now in Italy, and offered to show him the most hunted painting in the world. Eventually, Vincenzo Peruggia would meet Alfredo Geri & Giovanni Poggi and show them the stolen Mona Lisa, where Giovanni Poggi & Alfredo Geri would check and verify its authenticity. They would later take the painting from Vincenzo Peruggia, assuring the latter of a handsome reward.

Unfortunately for Vincenzo Peruggia, instead of receiving the money, he was arrested by the Police officials. The Mona Lisa stolen from Louvre returned once again to the museum, on 4th January 1914, as the Italian government returned it to France after it was exhibited in the Uffizi Gallery for few days. 

As the news of its return spread, the people flocked back to see it again, in much more numbers than ever before. And the painting went into a league of its own, becoming the masterpiece that is now famous all over the world.

Maybe it was for patriotism, as Vincenzo Peruggia claimed or it was for financial gains, as some of his actions showed, Vincenzo Peruggia had stolen a precious artwork and for the same reason would be brought before a judge. The man responsible for the theft of the Mona Lisa was sentenced to imprisonment for 1 year & 15 days. However, he served even less and was out in 7 months.

Although the poor Italian handyman and decorator - Vincenzo Peruggais’s act of stealing the Mona Lisa, became one of the very famous events of the time, it was soon overshadowed by the greater tragedy of the beginning of 1^st world war. Vincenzo Peruggia himself even went on to fight for the Italian army during wartime.

After the war, he married and had a daughter. He would again return to France, later on in his life and worked as a painter and decorator, under his birth name – Pietro Peruggia. When he died at the age of 44yrs in France, his death didn’t make much news. It was perhaps because he had died under the name of Pietro Peruggia, or perhaps, more importantly, he had chosen to drift to oblivion himself!

At the time of Vincenzo Peruggia, people jealous of the highly-priced artworks could damage the priceless paintings by spitting on them or by scratching them with razor blades, for which the valuable paintings were protected by glass covers made by people like Vincenzo Peruggia. However, thanks to his infamous acts, the Mona Lisa is now is a painting in a class of its own – a first among equals, deserving attention & warranting extra security.

As the Mona Lisa now stays protected under bulletproof glass, under the watchful eyes of security officials of the Louvre equipped with the most sophisticated safety & surveillance gadgets available; the media coverage of events that occurred when Mona Lisa was stolen, has ensured that the faint smile of the mysterious lady stays forever imprinted in the minds of people everywhere. The fact that it was a thief, who brought a relatively unknown painting to a global stage, is a story – that has faded into the pages of history.