Vincenzo Peruggia

Vincenzo Peruggia was an Italian museum worker who stole the Mona Lisa from the Louvre in 1911 and was arrested in Florence while trying to sell it.

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Mona Lisa theft: The 1911 theft of Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa from the Louvre and its recovery in 1913. Peruggia carried out this theft, hiding the painting for more than two years.
Louvre security: The systems and staff practices used to protect artworks and visitors at the Louvre. Gaps in the museum’s early twentieth-century safeguards allowed Peruggia to remove the painting.
Italian emigration: The movement of people from Italy to settle in other countries, especially during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Peruggia had migrated from Italy to France before taking work at the Louvre.
Mona Lisa's fame: The painting’s exceptional recognition and status as one of the world’s best-known artworks. The 1911 disappearance drew intense press attention and greatly amplified the painting’s public fame.
Mona Lisa: An oil portrait by Leonardo da Vinci, renowned for its enigmatic expression and long history in France. The painting Peruggia removed from the Louvre became an international news sensation during its disappearance.
Salon Carré: A gallery in the Louvre where the Mona Lisa was displayed before its theft. Peruggia took the painting from this gallery during the museum’s closed day.
Paris: The capital of France, where the Louvre and Peruggia’s employment were located. Peruggia lived and worked in Paris before stealing the painting.
Mona Lisa recovery: The return of the Mona Lisa to the Louvre in 1914 after its theft and recovery in Florence. Peruggia’s arrest led to the painting’s exhibition in Italy and its return to France.
Louvre: A national museum in Paris housed in a former royal palace. Peruggia worked at the museum and stole the painting from its Salon Carré.
Painting frame: A structure that surrounds and supports a painting, often protecting its edges and aiding display. Peruggia separated the Mona Lisa from its frame to carry it out of the Louvre.