On this day in 1911, Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece, the Mona Lisa, was stolen from the Louvre in Paris by a former employee who walked out of the museum with the painting in his jacket.
,The thief, Vincenzo Peruggia, claimed to have been motivated by his patriotism to Italy, to where he believed the Mona Lisa should be returned. However, after two years of having the da Vinci painting in his possession, Peruggia was apprehended trying to exchange it for ransom money.
,He had stolen it by entering the building during regular hours, hiding in a broom closet and walking out after the museum had closed and the guard house was left unattended. In Italy Peruggia was hailed for his crime, but he still served six months in jail. Today it would be impossible to commit such an act as the painting is covered with bulletproof glass, shielded from visitors with a waist-high barrier and protected by security guards.
