Real Girls: How a theft made the "Mona Lisa" famous


	July 14, 2024

Original photo by Eric TERRADE/ Unsplash

A theft of the "Mona Lisa" helped make it famous.

Today Leonardo da Vinci's "Mona Lisa" is probably the most famous painting in the world — and it deserves the accolade. Painted between 1503 and 1519, this portrait (commonly believed to be of Italian noblewoman Lisa del Giocondo) reflects the Renaissance polymath's deep understanding of his art form and has been analyzed in depth for decades, if not more. Although certain sectors of the art world regarded the portrait as a masterwork by the 1860s, the general public knew little about it until the 20th century. Then, the unthinkable happened — the "Mona Lisa" was stolen.

In the early morning hours of August 21, 1911, after spending the night hiding in an art-supply closet in the Louvre, three Italian "handymen" snuck over to the "Mona Lisa," unhooked it from its protected location, tossed a blanket over their pilfered prize, and snuck away undetected, boarding a train at the Quai d'Orsay station at 7:47 a.m. The theft became an international scandal, and newspapers around the world ran stories about the more than two-year-long search for the missing masterpiece. Finally, in December 1913, the painting was found in Florence, Italy, after an attempted sale by the heist's ringleader, Vincenzo Perugia — who had actually worked at the Louvre for a time, installing glass cases over the paintings. The treasure then went on a tour of Italy until it returned to the famous French museum in early 1914. Although the "Mona Lisa" and her mischievous smile survived unharmed, the painting's reputation had changed forever, with the many headlines about the theft making her a household name that has endured to this day.

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Edvard Munch's "The Scream" was also stolen… twice.

No painting captures existential dread quite like Edvard Munch's "The Scream." Created in 1893, Munch's masterpiece depicts a ghostly figure, not mid-scream as many assume, but instead hearing "the great scream throughout nature," according to the artist's own inscription on a lithograph edition of the work. The painting is so famous, it's one of the few works of art to receive the rare honor of its own emoji. Of course, popularity can also inspire the wrong kind of attention, and in February 1994, on the opening day of the Winter Olympics in nearby Lillehammer, Norway, two thieves stole Munch's masterwork from Oslo's National Gallery. The burglars left behind only a brief note: "Thousand thanks for the poor security." Fortunately, the painting was recovered — identified as genuine thanks to a splash of candle wax on its front — three months later in Åsgårdstrand, Norway, a town where Munch lived and worked for years. Then, in 2004, another version of "The Scream" (Munch painted several) was stolen from the Munch Museum in Oslo; it was recovered two years later. As happened with the "Mona Lisa," these thefts — though terrible crimes — only added to the painting's international renown.