Sunday, August 21, 2011
THEN
On August 21, 1911, Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa—the most widely recognized portrait in the world–is stolen from the Louvre in Paris, France by Italian immigrant Vincenzo Peruggia. At the time of the theft, Peruggia works as a laborer at the museum. Perhaps the most infamous art heist in history is pulled off in a brazen, yet unsophisticated fashion, when Peruggia enters the Louvre on a Monday when the museum is closed, removes the painting from its frame, wraps it in a smock and quietly walks out. Legend has it that Peruggia’s theft of the Mona Lisa is motivated by a patriotic intent to return the famed painting to Italy. However, art historians, letters and government documents reveal that Peruggia’s actions are actually motivated by hopes of fortune and fame. Two years after the heist, Peruggia is captured by the Italian police while trying to sell the painting to Florence’s Uffizi museum. The Mona Lisa is safely returned to the Louvre. Leonardo da Vinci–an iconic artist of the Renaissance period–was born on April 15, 1452 and died at the age of 67. He painted the Mona Lisa from 1503–1507.
NOW
Sunday marks 100 years since the famous heist of the Mona Lisa from the Louvre. In related news, last month, London’s National Gallery and The Louvre announced plans to unite the two versions of another Leonardo da Vinci masterpiece, Virgin Of The Rocks. As with other mysteries surrounding da Vinci paintings, historians have posed several creative theories explaining why the artist–who apparently completed no more than 20 paintings–decided to create two versions of Virgin Of The Rocks painting. The first version–the one that now belongs to the Louvre–was painted around 1483-1486, or even earlier, while the second version–the National Gallery one–is dated between 1491 and 1508. Both paintings will first be exhibited at the National Gallery starting in November of this year before traveling to Paris for exhibition at the Louvre in March of 2012. The announcement paves the way for an unprecedented opportunity for art enthusiasts to examine the two Virgin Of The Rocks paintings side by side.
