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Mona Lisa Photo sourced from

The Juciest Stories of when the Mona Lisa was Vandalized or Stolen

The Mona Lisa painting is one of the most emblematic portraits in the history of art, where is located at the Louvre. Painted by Leonardo da Vinci in the 16th century, it joined the collections of the court of France before being added to the works on display at the Louvre Museum.The composition technique of the painting makes it one of the most studied works in the history of art and by apprentice artists. It is highly regarded for its modern framing as a portrait that could be painted now. 

Of Leonardo da Vinci’s works, the Mona Lisa is the only portrait whose authenticity has never been seriously questioned, and one of four works 鈥� the others being Saint Jerome in the Wilderness, Adoration of the Magi and The Last Supper 鈥� whose attribution has avoided controversy. The masterpiece which came to fame after it was stolen has experienced several vandalism over the years. Let’s take a look at some of the juciest stories of when the painting was vandalized or stolen;

1.Theft in 1911

Vincenzo Peruggia, who was believed to have stolen the Mona Lisa in 1911 Photo sourced from

First on our list is the theft of the Mona Lisa on 1911 which made the master piece a world icon overnight. An italian man Vincenzo Peruggia, alongside two other accomplices, managed to steal the painting one night. The painting was first missed the next day by painter Louis B茅roud. After some confusion as to whether the painting was being photographed somewhere, the Louvre was closed for a week for investigation.

French poet Guillaume Apollinaire came under suspicion and was arrested and imprisoned. Apollinaire implicated his friend Pablo Picasso, who was brought in for questioning. Both were later exonerated. The real culprit however,  was Louvre employee Vincenzo Peruggia, who had helped construct the painting’s glass case. He carried out the theft by entering the building during regular hours, hiding in a broom closet, and walking out with the painting hidden under his coat after the museum had closed. 

Peruggia was an Italian patriot who believed that Leonardo’s painting should have been returned to an Italian museum. Peruggia who was thought to  have been motivated by an associate whose copies of the original would significantly rise in value after the painting’s theft.However after having kept the Mona Lisa in his apartment for two years, Peruggia grew impatient and was caught when he attempted to sell it to Giovanni Poggi, director of the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. Peruggia served six months in prison for the crime and was hailed for his patriotism in Italy. 

2.Acid incident in 1956

Crowd around Mona Lisa in Louvre Photo by Pueri Jason Scot

The second incident on our list and the first and most violent case of vandalism that the Mona Lisa experienced was in the year 1956. The work was on display at an exhibition in the south of France in Montauban when a vandal threw acid at the work. The acid affected the lower section of the canvas though it did not cause so much harm. 

This incident prompted the museum to encase the painting in glass. The reason why the person who caused this kind of vandalism is unknown.This incident would also change how the museum protected the masterpiece which is rated as one of the most famous and most important paintings in history as they came out with several ways to protect the work by Da Vinci. 

3.A stone thrown at it in 1956

Mona Lisa Photo sourced from

Third on our list is the incident which occured the same year as that of the case of acid in 1956,when a man from Bolivia threw a stone at the protective glass breaking it in the process and doing some damage to the painting. The Bolivian man named Hugo Unjaga Villegas who tossed a rock at the painting could later explain 鈥淚 had a stone in my pocket and suddenly the idea to throw it came to mind,鈥� he said at the time.

Thankfully, the painting was already behind glass, which meant that Villegas did not do permanent damage to the painting. The rock managed to knock off a speck of paint in one area, though that was easily repaired by experts with the French state, who restored the painting and put it back on view several days after the vandalism. However this cases of vandalism could only increase its fame across the globe. 

4. A woman sprayed it with red paint

Visitors to the Louvre Viewing the Mona Lisa, the Louvre, 麻豆APP, France Photo sourced from

Subsequently, on 21 April 1974, while the painting was on display at the Tokyo National Museum, a woman sprayed it with red paint as a protest against that museum’s failure to provide access for disabled people. The Mona Lisa which rarely ever left the Louvre,(which may explain why 1.15 million people reportedly saw the painting when it traveled to the National Museum in Tokyo) was on tour in Japan when one of those people who came to view the masterpiece Tomoko Yonezu, a 25-year-old Japanese woman tried to spray paint the canvas in red on its first day on view.

Yonezu’s paint almost destroyed the masterpiece as somewhere between 20 and 30 droplets of spray paint made it onto Leonardo鈥檚 painting, but in the end, the work was spared. Yonezu faced the consequences of such an act, as she was later brought to court after being detained and finally in 1975, Yonezu was convicted of a misdemeanor and made to pay a fine of 3,000 yen, although her act bore fruit, as the National Museum set aside a day when the disabled could exclusively visit the Mona Lisa.

5.Hit with a Teacup in 2009

Another recent case is that of a woman who smashed a teacup against the painting. She had come to the museum with the cup concealed inside her bag, and Louvre representatives said she had let loose because she had been denied French citizenship. Calling the woman 鈥渃learly deranged,鈥� a Louvre spokesperson told the New York Times that 鈥渧iewing was only disturbed the time it took to pick up the pieces.鈥� Thanks once again to her glass case, the Mona Lisa was not damaged.

Still, some took the attempted vandalism as proof that greater security was needed. 鈥淭he truth is that the Louvre needs to consider moving the Mona Lisa to its own gallery, at a safe distance from other works,鈥� Jonathan Jones wrote in the Guardian. Ultimately, the Louvre did just that, partially in an effort to stem lines of people that had been spilling over, and in 2019, the glass on the Mona Lisa was upgraded.

6.The Mona Lisa gets caked in 2022

Last on our list today is the recent case this year when Mona Lisa was smeared with cake this year in what appeared to be a protest against climate change. The 36-year-old man who staged this intervention had come to the museum in a wheelchair dressed as a woman to conceal his identity. Some people who we’re at the Louvre caught the aftermath of the event on video and posted it to social media.

The man however explained himself and his reason for his actions, 鈥淭here are people who are destroying the Earth,鈥� the man said in one video, speaking in French. 鈥淎ll artists, think about the Earth. That鈥檚 why I did this. Think of the planet.鈥� The man was immediately detained, and the Louvre has filed a criminal complaint.The master piece is however currently in a good and secure place with a protective and bullet proof glass over it. 

This are some of the vandalism activities that have happened to the painting and we hope none of it will happen in future.