the Smiling beauty ! ~ stolen this day, 114 years ago !!!

How often do you Smile !  ~ and whom do you feel has the most beautiful smile ? – when in love, people tend to think that their partner is most beautiful, ever smiling, mild- mannered, not speaking harsh words, and cool in temperament.  Well, people learn in few days, months, years – especially after marriage !! 

 

For most, Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, also known as La Gioconda, is considered to be  one of the most beloved artworks in the world.   Its creator, left numerous details that have been debated for centuries. Seen by millions of people each year, it is considered to be the crown jewel of the Louvre’s collection, an iconic work of the Renaissance, and a painting that is impossible to value because it is seen as being priceless.   

The smile of the Mona Lisa has puzzled experts for centuries. Art historian E.H. Gombrich in The Story of Art (1950) suggests its ambiguity is due to the "sfumato" technique, used by da Vinci to soften contours and create an optical illusion effect.   

The Louvre or the Louvre Museum   is the world's largest art museum and a historic monument in Paris, France. A central landmark of the city, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine.   Approximately 38,000 objects from prehistory to the 21st century are exhibited over an area of 72,735 square metres.  The museum is housed in the Louvre Palace, originally built as the Louvre castle in the late 12th to 13th century under Philip II. The museum opened on 10 August 1793 with an exhibition of 537 paintings, the majority of the works being royal and confiscated church property.  The collection was increased under Napoleon and the museum was renamed Musée Napoléon, but after Napoleon's abdication many works seized by his armies were returned to their original owners. 

Pic credit X page : Scott  @Havenlust  

One of the biggest enigmas is the identity of the woman portrayed. According to Giorgio Vasari in Lives of the Artists (1550), she might be Lisa Gherardini, the wife of merchant Francesco del Giocondo. However, other researchers, have suggested the face could be a Renaissance ideal rather than a real person. 

The painting measures 30.3 x 20.9 inches, an uncommon size for a portrait of the time. This may suggest that  da Vinci was aiming for more than just a simple representation: an artistic experiment.  Since the 16th century, there has been debate about why the Mona Lisa lacks eyebrows and eyelashes. Pascal Cotte, in an analysis using scanning technology reflected in Lumière on the Mona Lisa (2010), discovered that she originally did have eyebrows, but they disappeared due to wear or restoration attempts.  

In 1911, the painting was stolen from the Louvre Museum by  a former museum employee. According to Dianne Hales in Mona Lisa: A Life Discovered (2014), this theft turned the painting into a global celebrity, as its return generated unprecedented media attention. The theft occurred this day 114 years ago !!  

The Mona Lisa was stolen on August 21, 1911, from the Louvre Museum in Paris. The thief was Vincenzo Peruggia, an Italian handyman who had previously worked at the Louvre. He hid in a broom closet overnight, then removed the painting from the wall, concealed it under his smock, and walked out. Peruggia claimed he stole the painting to return it to its native Italy.  The theft was discovered the next day when the museum reopened, causing a huge uproar and international investigation. The police were initially baffled, and the museum even briefly became a suspect.  

Vincenzo Peruggia ( 1881 –   1925) was an Italian decorator.  When Peruggia hid the painting, he was stuck in a locked service door. A plumber, thinking he was an employee (Peruggia had finished working for the Louvre), unlocked the door for him, and Peruggia successfully left the museum.  He then hid the painting in his apartment in Paris.  The theft was not discovered until the following day, when a painter who was about to do a copy of the Mona Lisa found it missing. The director, who was on holiday, had boasted "steal the Mona Lisa? That would be like thinking that someone could steal the towers of Notre Dame cathedral."  The arts minister was also away, having ordered "don't call me unless the Louvre burns down or the Joconde is stolen."  At least 60 policemen scoured the Louvre in search of clues, and the top officer in charge of the investigation sounded confident, as he stated: "The theft took place on closing day, we know who came in and out, this investigation will only take two to three days."  Two Germans, the poet Guillaume Apollinaire, and the painter Pablo Picasso were arrested, and all passengers of an ocean liner set to sail were also searched. In New York, the police searched another ship in an attempt to retrieve the Mona Lisa.  

Having interrogated all of the Louvre's permanent staff, the National Gendarmerie began to interview extraneous workers including bricklayers, decorators, and staff hired for short periods or for specific jobs in September 1911. During this period, officers visited Peruggia's apartment and questioned him twice about his possible involvement; he was not considered a primary suspect.  It was only after Peruggia had failed to come to the police station twice that the police went to his apartment, where the painting was hidden. The detective failed to see it and believed Peruggia's explanations !!  Peruggia had left a thumbprint on the glass securing the painting, and his fingerprints and photo were in police files as he had been arrested before. The police also knew that he had helped make the protective glass for the painting and that he was not working at the time of the robbery. All the museum employees had their fingerprints taken but not Peruggia, and the police forgot to add his name to the list of fingerprints to check against police records. 

                   Days after the theft, speculations began and a newspaper wrote an article imagining to interview Mona Lisa, while others speculated that the theft was a "crime of passion", joked that Arsène Lupin was involved, and movies and songs poked fun at the turn of events. Knowing that a story could sell millions of copies, newspapers offered financial rewards for information, and for over two years, hundreds of false leads were sent to the police and the press.   

After keeping the painting hidden in a trunk in his apartment for two years, Peruggia returned to Italy with it by train, after he saw adverts by antique dealers in an Italian newspaper.  He kept it in his apartment in Florence for some time. Peruggia eventually grew impatient and was finally caught when he contacted Alfredo Geri, the owner of an art gallery in Florence, using the name Leonardo V. After its recovery, the painting was exhibited all over Italy with banner headlines rejoicing its return. The Mona Lisa was then returned to the Louvre in 1913. While the painting was famous before the theft, the notoriety it received from the newspaper headlines and the large scale police investigation helped the artwork become one of the best known in the world,  gaining considerable public interest.  

The thief, Peruggia was released from jail after a short time and served in the Italian army during World War I. During the war, he was captured by Austria-Hungary and held as a prisoner of war for two years until the war ended and he was released. He later married Annunciata Rossi, had one daughter named Celestina, returned to France, and continued to work as a painter decorator using his birth name Pietro Peruggia.  He died from a heart attack in  1925 (his 44th birthday).  

Seen by millions of people each year, and  considered to be the crown jewel of the Louvre’s collection, an iconic work of the Renaissance, and a painting that is impossible to value because it is seen as being priceless. It has also been the target of theft and vandalism on several occasions. Since the start of the 20th century, the painting, which was acquired by France in 1797, has had spray paint and a teacup thrown at it. In 2022, it was caked, and in 2024, soup was splashed across it. In 1956 alone, two vandals tried to use a razor blade and a rock to defile it on separate occasions. Each time, the Mona Lisa has emerged without damage.   

Interesting !

Regards – S Sampathkumar
21.8.2025