The Mona Lisa is stolen by Vincenzo Peruggia, a Louvre employee.

On August 21, 1911, Leonardo da Vinci’s *Mona Lisa* was stolen from the Louvre Museum in Paris in one of the most famous art thefts in history. The thief was Vincenzo Peruggia, an Italian immigrant who had previously worked at the Louvre and was familiar with the museum’s layout and security. Peruggia entered the museum, removed the painting from the wall, took it out of its protective frame and concealed it beneath his clothing before leaving the building. The theft was not discovered until the following day, when artist Louis Béroud arrived to paint a copy of the *Mona Lisa* and noticed the empty space on the wall. French police launched a major investigation, and the Louvre was closed for several days while authorities searched for clues. Despite questioning numerous suspects—including the poet Guillaume Apollinaire and, briefly, Pablo Picasso—the police failed to identify Peruggia.

Peruggia kept the *Mona Lisa* hidden in his Paris apartment for more than two years. He later claimed that he had stolen the painting out of Italian patriotism, believing that Leonardo’s masterpiece had been taken from Italy by the French and should be returned to its homeland. In reality, Leonardo had brought the painting to France himself in the 16th century, and it later became part of the French royal collection. In 1913, Peruggia contacted an art dealer in Florence and attempted to arrange the painting’s return to Italy, leading to his arrest. The *Mona Lisa* was displayed briefly in several Italian cities before being returned to the Louvre in January 1914. Peruggia received a relatively short prison sentence, while the sensational theft transformed the *Mona Lisa* from an admired Renaissance painting into an international cultural icon and helped make it one of the most famous works of art in the world.