Chapter 1
Leonardo's brush and the birth of a mystery
Chapter 2
The heist that shocked the world
Chapter 3
Becoming a global pop culture icon
Chapter 4
The science behind the bulletproof glass
Ch 2 · The heist that shocked the world
BETA
andy Sneak past Louvre guards to discover how a daring heist made the Mona Lisa famous.
andy An Italian carpenter named Vincenzo Peruggia hid overnight in a closet and walked out with the painting under his smock.
andy Mona Lisa Heist
They queued for miles for an empty space, Now the whole wide world knows your smiling face.
andy The sensational theft turned the painting into an international news sensation and led to the arrest of famous artists.
Fun Fact
The empty hooks: For two years after the theft, crowds queued at the Louvre just to look at the empty hooks where the painting once hung.
Quiz
Which famous modern artist was actually arrested and questioned by French police under suspicion of stealing the Mona Lisa?
Glossary
heist (noun)
An act of stealing, especially a robbery of valuable items. Vincenzo Peruggia stole the Mona Lisa from the Louvre in 1911, catapulting the portrait to global fame.
An act of stealing, especially a robbery of valuable items. Vincenzo Peruggia stole the Mona Lisa from the Louvre in 1911, catapulting the portrait to global fame.