The Heist That Made The Mona Lisa Famous

 

Mona Lisa, a name that strikes a chord with every individual regardless of them being artistic or not. A painting so electrifying that every household wants one hanging on their walls. Painted by the great Italian artist, mathematician, scientist and poet, Leonardo Da Vinci, the majestic piece conceals many mysteries.

It is said that, Mona Lisa was the mistress of a famous man from Florence, Italy, and it is assumed that he made Da Vinci paint her portrait. Some argue that it is purely an imaginative piece of art.

But what is it that makes Mona Lisa such a masterpiece? And Why did the famous illustrator, Pablo Picasso get into trouble for it?

Historians say that the portrait of the Mona Lisa was painted by Leonardo Da Vinci between 1503-17. However, some argue that it was an image captured by the then French Emperor, King Francois-1 and kept in his harem.

Therefore, the portrait of Mona Lisa was then returned to the Louvre Museum in Paris, France in 1797. The portrait has been preserved in there ever since.

Picasso’s Arrest

It was not until 1911 that the rest of world knew much about the Mona Lisa except France. The Mona Lisa’s painting became famous all over the world owing to a theft.

On 21^st August, 1911, the Mona Lisa in the Louvre museum was stolen by some thugs. Previously, the painting had been given for a photoshoot of a movie which made the museum in-charge suspect the film-makers of the robbery. He complained to the police about how long the filmmakers had not returned the valuable painting.

The museum was closed for a few weeks as part of the investigation. During the investigation, police suspected the French writer, Guillaume Apollinaire because Apollinaire was known to have contacts with people who stole and sold paintings from museums. Soon he was taken into custody.

At the trial, Apollinaire mentioned the name of his friend, the famous painter, Picasso, as the one behind the robbery on the pretext that Picasso had also previously stolen precious items and paintings. In the wake of this allegation, the police arrested Picasso.

Picasso was eventually released after learning that it was the museum staff itself who were involved in the burglary.

Vincenzo Perugia, one of the staff members who helped frame the Mona Lisa at the museum, was the main culprit. Vincenzo was Italian just like Leonardo, the creator of the painting, and he was of the strong belief that The Mona Lisa rightly belonged in Italy and not France.

Popularity of the Mona Lisa

Right after the theft, Vincenzo hid the picture in his house for two years.

Others involved in the theft were making innumerable copies of Mona Lisa paintings and selling them all over America.

The original picture was then sold to a museum director in Florence.

It was exhibited in the museum for a few weeks in 1913. When the police learned of the new museum exhibiting the stolen painting, they managed to track down the miscreants.

Vincenzo was arrested and the picture was returned to the museum in France.

When leading illustrator, Pablo Picasso had been arrested in connection with the theft of Mona Lisa, the popularity of the painting increased drastically. People from all over the world gathered to see the magnificent work of art.

During world war 2, the image of the Mona Lisa was moved from the Louvre museum to other locations, and once things started to look up for France, the painting was brought back to the original location.

While the real Mona Lisa portrait is still there in the frame of a bullet proof glass. Fake pictures are available to people all over the world.

Written By - Keerthana Bharadwaj

Edited By - Tushna Choksey