UNHEARD: THE MISSING PAGES OF HISTORY – MONA LISA and the Theft that turned it into a Masterpiece, Overnight

All of us have heard about the famous artist of the Italian Renaissance Era – Leonardo Da Vinci. He was well known even in his time, as not just a painter, but also a scientist, musician, mathematician, literary, paleontology, and so many more fields of interest. However, we now remember him, most famously, as the man who painted the masterpiece – ‘The Mona Lisa’. All of us have seen and heard about the Mona Lisa at least once. But how many of us actually know the story behind the painting? Do you know how and why it became famous? It wasn’t just because the painting looked extremely realistic and beautiful. It was the morning of August 21 1911 when the Mona Lisa became known to the entire world. What happened though? Let me take you through an age-old event that made the Mona Lisa a legend, and what it is today.

The Mona Lisa

Picture this – you’re standing outside the Louvre in Paris, on the morning of the 21^st of August 1911. You see 3 men, suddenly emerging out of the Louvre, with a huge item in their hand covered with a blanket. You get curious, considering that there were hardly any people on the streets of Paris that Monday morning. The reason being that “Sunday night was a huge social night in Paris, so most of the people were hungover”, says the historian James Zug. You follow them to the Quai d’Orsay station, where you see them board a 7:47 am express train out of the city. What is your first thought? Most probably this – “What did these three men steal from the Louvre Museum?” And I think that by now, you guys have a fair idea of what these three men have stolen.

Leonardo Da Vinci

So, before I move any further, let me give you a backstory to the Mona Lisa. Leonardo Da Vinci started painting the Mona Lisa around 1503 AD or around 1517 AD, for the Italian nobleman Francesco del Giocondo. This was the portrait of his wife Lisa del Giocondo, who was commonly referred to as “Mona Lisa”, the English translation of which is ‘Madam Lisa’. This painting is believed to have been commissioned by Francesco del Giocondo for their new house and to celebrate the birth of their second son. One very interesting fact that you might not have noticed before – if you observe the Mona Lisa closely, you will notice that she has no eyebrows or eyelashes. Some researchers claim that this is because back in those days it was quite common for women to pluck these hairs out, as it was considered highly unsightly.

The Mona Lisa in the Louvre, behind a protective case

Now, onto the morning of August 21 1911. The three men who had stolen the Mona Lisa, had just spent the entire night in an art closet, waiting for the Louvre to close, so that they could slip out unnoticed, with the painting in their hands. It was twenty-eight hours, before anyone even noticed that the painting was missing. Before, the painting was stolen, the Mona Lisa wasn’t even the most famous painting in the Louvre, let alone the world. This is probably one of the reasons why no one even noticed the masterpiece was missing for more than a day. There was a still-life artist who had set up his easel in that particular gallery of the Louvre, where the Mona Lisa was originally hung, to paint it. It is said that the Mona Lisa was his favourite painting in the Louvre, and so he refused to paint until the painting was back. One of the reasons, why no one noticed the four bare hooks earlier was because there was a project underway at the Louvre, where the paintings would be taken up to the terrace to photograph it, since the camera quality back in the day wasn’t the best. So, unalarmed, the artist asked one of the guards to go upstairs and check how long it would take for the photographers to be done with the Mona Lisa. The guard came back rushing down the stairs, and huffing and panting, he said, “They say they don’t have it. The Mona Lisa is gone!” And just like that, the Mona Lisa became a legend and a world-famous beauty, overnight.

The New York Times’ headline when the Mona Lisa was found missing

­The Louvre soon announce the theft, and all the newspapers across the world wrote about the theft of a painting. “60 Detectives Seek Stolen ‘Mona Lisa,’ French Public Indignant,” the New York Times declared. The theft of the Mona Lisa had put the French government under a blacklight. The police questioned everyone who was either an art lover or a painter. The famous Spanish painter Pablo Picasso was also amongst the list of suspects. Now that we know who the actual thieves are, what was actually going on with the Mona Lisa? Where was she? The three men who had stolen her, were Italians and went by the names of – Vincenzo and Michele Lancelotti, two brothers, and the main ringleader Vincenzo Perugia. The latter, was a handyman who worked at the Louvre, and had installed the very same protective glass case that he had taken off of the Mona Lisa, when he stole her. These three had executed the perfect heist – no witnesses, no police tail on them and most importantly, they still had the Mona Lisa with them, in a perfectly safe condition. They could do whatever they wanted with it. Except, they couldn’t.

Vincenzo Perugia, the main ringleader

The Mona Lisa had now become a widely popular public scandal and anybody who saw it on the streets would recognize it. Perugia actually wanted to sell the painting originally. But, now he couldn’t. he had no idea that the theft of the least famous painting at the Louvre would create such a big riot. So, what did he do now? He stashed it in the false bottom of a trunk in his Paris boarding house. Newspapers were offering rewards to anyone who would bring in the Mona Lisa. Perugia could’ve returned it then, but he didn’t because he feared getting arrested. The story had become far too big a scandal for him to take such a big risk. Fast-forward two years and 4 months – Perugia finally decided to take the chance and sell the painting to a local art dealer. The dealer however was suspicious. He had the head an Italian art gallery take a look at it. There was a stamp at the back of the painting that confirmed the fact that it was the original Mona Lisa of the Louvre. Half an hour later, the police landed up at Perugia’s door step. He tried defending himself with claims like, “The Napoleon stole it”, and that he was actually returning the painting to the land of its birth. Later on, Perugia pleaded guilty. Finally, the Mona Lisa had been found and was back at the Louvre. Perugia served just 8 months in prison, partly because the First World War had broken out by then, and the theft of the Mona Lisa wasn’t as big a concern anymore.

The Lancelotti Brothers, who aided in the theft of the Mona Lisa

So, this is the whole story behind the Mona Lisa. Painted by the great Leonardo Da Vinci, all the way back in 1503 AD, it soon came on display in the Louvre around 1519 AD, when its artist died. After, that it remained as ‘just another painting’ in the Louvre, up until 1911, when it was stolen and it became national scandal. The painting now values over $2.5 billion. I guess it is safe to say that the Mona Lisa became a world-renowned masterpiece, literally overnight, when on the quiet morning of the 21^st of August 1911, it was stolen by 3 ordinary Italian gentlemen. Or would you call them that now?

Sources:

https://www.npr.org/2011/07/30/138800110/the-theft-that-made-the-mona-lisa-a-masterp

https://edition.cnn.com/2013/11/18/world/europe/mona-lisa-the-theft/index.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mona_Lisa