The Mona Lisa Was Stolen in 1911 and Was Missing for Two Years

While the 1911 theft of the Mona Lisa catapulted the painting to global stardom, its prior fame was largely confined to the art world. Before the heist, Leonardo da Vinci's portrait was not widely recognized by the general public. The brazen act by Louvre employee Vincenzo (Review) Peruggia, who had even helped build the painting's protective case, changed everything. He concealed himself in a storage closet overnight and simply walked out with the masterpiece under his workman's smock the next morning. The museum staff didn't even notice the painting was missing for over 24 hours, until a visiting artist who came to paint the Mona Lisa found a blank space on the wall.

The ensuing two-year search for the "lost" masterpiece created a media frenzy, with newspapers around the world covering the story. Thousands of people flocked to the Louvre, not to see the art, but to gaze at the empty space where the Mona Lisa once hung. This unprecedented attention is what cemented the painting's place in popular culture. Peruggia was eventually apprehended in Florence when he attempted to sell the painting to an art dealer, believing he was a national hero for returning the artwork to its native Italy. He mistakenly thought Napoleon had stolen it, when in fact, Leonardo da Vinci himself had brought the painting to France centuries earlier. After a brief exhibition tour in Italy, the Mona Lisa was returned to the Louvre in 1914, where it has remained a global icon ever since.