Who Stole the Mona Lisa? How was the Mona Lisa recovered?

The Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre Museum in Paris on August 21, 1911. The thief was an Italian man named Vincenzo Peruggia, who was a former employee of the museum.

Peruggia had access to the museum and knew where the Mona Lisa was kept. He took the painting off the wall, hid it under his coat, and walked out of the museum.

The theft of the Mona Lisa was not discovered until the following day when the painting was found to be missing from its usual spot. A massive search was launched, and the theft was widely covered by the media.

Peruggia was eventually caught in Italy in 1913 when he tried to sell the painting to a gallery owner in Florence. The Mona Lisa was recovered and returned to the Louvre, where it has been on display ever since.

The Mona Lisa is a portrait of Lisa del Giocondo, the wife of Francesco di Bartolomeo di Zanobi del Giocondo, and is believed to have been painted between 1503 and 1506.