The Thefts of the Mona Lisa

Historian Charney tracks the eventful life of the Mona Lisa in this rollicking account. Florentine nobleman Francesco del Giocondo commissioned Leonardo da Vinci to paint a portrait of his wife Lisa in 1503. When the artist died in 1519 France, the still-unfinished painting passed into the hands of his assistant Salai, who sold it to French king François I. Following that exchange, the painting came into the possession of Napoleon, who hung it on his bedroom wall at the Tuilleries Palace. In the early 1800s, it became part of the permanent collection at the Louvre, from where it was stolen in 1911 by Italian handyman Vincenzo Peruggia, who sought to 'repatriate' the painting to Florence, falsely believing that Napoleon had looted it from his country a century before. (At one point during the ensuing investigation, suspicion fell on Pablo Picasso because he'd bought Iberian statues stolen from the Louvre several years before.) After the Mona Lisa was recovered in 1913 with the help of an Italian gallery owner, French curators hid the artwork in chateaus during WWII, though Charney notes a nearly three-year gap in which its whereabouts are still undocumented. Throughout, Charney succeeds in separating myth and legend from fact as he uncovers the background behind the artwork's celebrity. The result is both a thrilling tale of true crime and a rigorous work of art history.

After opening with a gripping narration of the theft of the Mona Lisa in 1911, Charney proceeds with an excellent chapter on the painting's history. This portion includes a synopsis of da Vinci's career and legacy; the author explains how critical reception to the Mona Lisa changed over time, offering valuable perspective on how the theft contributed to the portrait's place in popular culture.

In The Thefts of the Mona Lisa, Noah Charney reveals fascinating details about the beguiling masterpiece's artistic and social history, including its infamous 1911 theft and two years' absence from the Louvre. The book includes incredible details about museum security before the theft, with objets d'art displayed in a casual way--as if they were in someone's living room. A century ago, artworks were uncased, unanchored, and unguarded--not safe behind bulletproof glass as the painting is now. Charney next relays how the startling theft was accomplished, reveals the intriguing motives behind the heist, and covers the worldwide media frenzy that followed. An account of how Pablo Picasso and Guillaume Apollinaire were involved in a contemporary art theft from the Louvre layers in even more astonishing details. Charney's assured, witty prose covers other art thefts too, alongside nerve-wracking accounts of how museum staff safeguarded and moved French art treasures throughout the countryside during World War II, helping the portrait to escape from the Nazis. There's also consideration of The Mona Lisa "as a prism through which to consider the idea of fame": Charney notes that The Mona Lisa is a familiar but "invisible icon," with most knowing little about the subject and never gazing on the enigmatic portrait at length. He remedies this with appealing stories about Leonardo da Vinci's life, Renaissance beauty standards, and modern techniques, musing on how The Mona Lisa looked when it was freshly painted. And he uses memorable passages about contemporary art crimes--some with violent, organized crime aspects--to dispel common myths about the art world. The Thefts of the Mona Lisa is a thorough, diverting analysis of the Renaissance painting--the world's most recognizable artwork and visage.

It is ironic that an artist who rarely finished his paintings is responsible for the world's most famous work of art; Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa has captivated viewers since the early 16th century. Charney explores how fascination with the painting has led to crime. The 1911 theft of the Mona Lisa is one of the most famous robberies in art history; that it was returned unscathed to the Louvre two years later seems like a miracle. Charney unpacks what drives people toward the Mona Lisa, the details surrounding the 1911 heist, and another mysterious theft of the masterpiece. Before introducing readers to the cast of characters in this thrilling mystery, he discusses Leonardo's life, how the Mona Lisa came into existence, and how the portrait 'disappeared' for a time during World War II, demonstrating that the history of the Mona Lisa is as mysterious as her smile. As an exploration of a famous art heist, Charney's book does not disappoint. It's also a succinct but comprehensive study of the Mona Lisa and some of her many secrets.

According to Charney, 'every year anywhere from fifty thousand to one hundred thousand art objects are reported stolen worldwide.' Among the most notorious of these crimes is Vincenzo Peruggia's 1911 theft of Leonardo's Mona Lisa. This book recounts the story of that crime and delivers a complete portrait of the famous painting, including its role in popular culture. Charney begins by explaining the Mona Lisa's importance in the history of art. From there he launches into an account of some other early twentieth-century art thefts that preceded Peruggia's crime, manhunt, and subsequent trial. Deftly separating fact from fiction and cutting through the many myths and misconceptions that have grown around the portrait over the years, Charney answers questions such as: Is the painting a self-portrait? Did the Nazis steal it? A time line, source notes, and a selected bibliography finish off this delicious blend of art history and true crime that will appeal to fans of both.

The Thefts of the Mona Lisa reads like a thriller. But this stuff is ALL real. It happened. You're going to learn all about how and why one of the most famous works of art on the planet has attracted the attention of so many thieves and fanatics." From the Foreword by New York Times best-selling author Steve Berry

This book reads like a thriller, but a historically sound art thriller. It is not just about the famous 1911 theft of the Mona Lisa but covers the entire background to the theft and its subsequent denouement with, in addition, plenty of judicious art history. Read it before (and after) seeing the real thing.

In the thrilling The Thefts of the Mona Lisa: The Complete Story of the World's Most Famous Artwork, Noah Charney expertly separates truth from rumor behind the possibly well-intentioned heist of Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa from France's Louvre. Stolen on August 21, 1911, and finally returned to the Louvre on January 4, 1914, the Mona Lisa was missing for more than two and half years. Pablo Picasso and his partner were even arrested for the theft. In fact, he was guilty, but only on a peripheral level, and never faced the consequences of his crime (except for minor embarrassment). The majority of blame belongs to the mind-boggling lack of security at the Louvre, as well as several other museums at the time, and the French media muddying the waters with ridicule and conspiracy. Complicating matters further, da Vinci liked to revisit his pieces by starting over from scratch; this led to multiple copies of the Mona Lisa, which made it very difficult to tell which was the original. Charney fuses the myriad bits of evidence into this quick-paced and intriguing historical mystery. Scholars have generated countless reams of paper on the famous painting, but beyond who took it, who was arrested and who confessed, many of those pages amount to speculation and theory. Charney even references an urban legend of a young artist whose "suicide note read, 'For years I have grappled desperately with her smile. I prefer to die.'" Perhaps Mona Lisa's enigmatic smile stems from delight in the mystery of it all.

The Thefts of Mona Lisa wonderfully reads like a novel, effectively drawing from our fascination with the underworld, and it naturally combines elements of both suave story-telling and even occasional humor. The book's telling also aligns with a criminal perspective from the beginning, states its motives plainly, and differs from traditional whodunits that are punctuated by red herrings and that rely on revelations. This theft actually happened, and that's the story the book sticks to.