The Day the Mona Lisa Was Stolen

On 21 August 1911, handyman Vincenzo Peruggia walked out of the Louvre with the Mona Lisa under his smock, having spent the night in a closet. The empty wall drew bigger crowds than the painting.

Pablo Picasso was questioned as a suspect. Peruggia kept her in a trunk for two years, then tried selling her to the Uffizi, was caught, and served seven months.

The theft made the Mona Lisa the most famous painting alive..