Mona Lisa stolen from the Louvre — 1911

On August 21, 1911, an Italian handyman named Vincenzo Peruggia walked out of the Louvre with Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa hidden under his coat. The theft went unnoticed for more than 24 hours. When museum staff finally realized the painting was missing, the Louvre closed for a week and a massive investigation began.

Peruggia, a former Louvre employee, believed the painting belonged in Italy and kept it hidden in his apartment for two years. He was caught in 1913 when he tried to sell it to an art dealer in Florence. The painting toured Italy before returning to Paris, where crowds larger than any before lined up to see it. The theft turned the Mona Lisa from a respected masterpiece into a global icon, cementing its place as the most famous painting in the world.

The heist remains a reminder that an artwork's cultural weight can be shaped as much by its story as by the paint on canvas.