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 beneath his coat. The theft went unnoticed for more than 24 hours. When museum staff finally realized the painting was missing, the news triggered an international scandal that made front pages across Europe and America.

Peruggia, a former Louvre employee, believed the painting rightfully belonged to Italy. He kept it in his Paris apartment for two years before attempting to sell it to a gallery in Florence. Authorities recovered the work in 1913, and it returned to Paris under heavy guard. The theft transformed the Mona Lisa from a respected Renaissance portrait into the most famous painting in the world. Crowds mobbed the Louvre for weeks after its return.

The episode remains a reminder that cultural value is fragile, that a single act can rewrite how millions of people see a work of art.