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The Lost Mona Lisa
In Paris at the start of a radically new century, the most famous face in the history of art stepped out of her frame and into a sensational mystery.
On August 21, 1911, the unfathomable happened—Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa vanished from the Louvre. More than twenty-four hours passed before museum officials realized she was gone. The prime suspects were as shocking as the crime: Pablo Picasso and Guillaume Apollinaire, young provocateurs of a new art. As French detectives using the latest methods of criminology, including fingerprinting, tried to trace the thieves, a burgeoning international media hyped news of the heist.
No story captured the imagination of the world quite like this one. Thousands flocked to the Louvre to see the empty space where the painting had hung. They mourned as if Mona Lisa were a lost loved one, left flowers and notes, and set new attendance records. For more than two years, Mona Lisa’s absence haunted the art world, provoking the question: Was she lost forever? A century later, questions still linger.
Part love story, part mystery, Vanished Smile reopens the case of the most audacious and perplexing art theft ever committed. R. A. Scotti’s riveting, ingeniously realized account is itself a masterly portrait of a world in transition. Combining her skills as a historian and a novelist, Scotti turns the tantalizing clues into a story of the painting’s transformation into the most familiar and lasting icon of all time.
On August 21, 1911, the unfathomable happened—Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa vanished from the Louvre. More than twenty-four hours passed before museum officials realized she was gone. The prime suspects were as shocking as the crime: Pablo Picasso and Guillaume Apollinaire, young provocateurs of a new art. As French detectives using the latest methods of criminology, including fingerprinting, tried to trace the thieves, a burgeoning international media hyped news of the heist.
No story captured the imagination of the world quite like this one. Thousands flocked to the Louvre to see the empty space where the painting had hung. They mourned as if Mona Lisa were a lost loved one, left flowers and notes, and set new attendance records. For more than two years, Mona Lisa’s absence haunted the art world, provoking the question: Was she lost forever? A century later, questions still linger.
Part love story, part mystery, Vanished Smile reopens the case of the most audacious and perplexing art theft ever committed. R. A. Scotti’s riveting, ingeniously realized account is itself a masterly portrait of a world in transition. Combining her skills as a historian and a novelist, Scotti turns the tantalizing clues into a story of the painting’s transformation into the most familiar and lasting icon of all time.
272 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 7, 2009
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January 31, 2018
Nineteen eleven was a year of grand escapades. In the boatyards of Belfast, a magnificent new ocean liner was under construction. Its builders boasted that it would be "unsinkable". In Antarctica Captain Robert Falcon Scott was trudging across a frozen plateau to the South Pole, the Union Jack folded in his Pack, dreaming of making history, and in Paris a plan was brewing to pinch the most famous painting in the world. Of these three grand escapades, the first seemed assured of success, the second likely, and the third not only improbable but impossible.
This is a book about the theft of the painting by Leonardo Da Vince whose disappearance from the walls of the Louvre in 1911 caused a ruckus unlike any painting ever or since has caused. I did see the Mona Lisa twice in the Louvre once in a quite moment in the morning and the first time among a few busloads of Japanese tourists. Yes she is something special so I understand the sentiment that this little painting has created.
Anyhow this book is about the theft, the politics in those years (close to the beginning of WWI), how the French police never cracked the case at all but in their investigations we find a certain Pablo Picasso who was involved with theft from the Louvre. It also contains a decent amount of history about the Mona Lisa and its travels to the current place she is at.
The writer does offer us some explanations about the theft and yet tells us as well that the story of the professed thief might not be accurate, there are far more interesting stories but it is impossible to find the truth about what really has happened.
It is a well written book about a fascinating theft of a fascinating painting and the writer himself does paint a very good portrait of the periode it happened. What happened took place in a time before the world caught fire and that is also part of the tale of the theft.
A very enjoyable and historical interesting tale that is more real-live crime and a great document of a certain time in our history.
Very enjoyable.
This is a book about the theft of the painting by Leonardo Da Vince whose disappearance from the walls of the Louvre in 1911 caused a ruckus unlike any painting ever or since has caused. I did see the Mona Lisa twice in the Louvre once in a quite moment in the morning and the first time among a few busloads of Japanese tourists. Yes she is something special so I understand the sentiment that this little painting has created.
Anyhow this book is about the theft, the politics in those years (close to the beginning of WWI), how the French police never cracked the case at all but in their investigations we find a certain Pablo Picasso who was involved with theft from the Louvre. It also contains a decent amount of history about the Mona Lisa and its travels to the current place she is at.
The writer does offer us some explanations about the theft and yet tells us as well that the story of the professed thief might not be accurate, there are far more interesting stories but it is impossible to find the truth about what really has happened.
It is a well written book about a fascinating theft of a fascinating painting and the writer himself does paint a very good portrait of the periode it happened. What happened took place in a time before the world caught fire and that is also part of the tale of the theft.
A very enjoyable and historical interesting tale that is more real-live crime and a great document of a certain time in our history.
Very enjoyable.
September 18, 2021
Verslag van de diefstal van de Mona Lisa uit het Louvre in 1911. Er waren verschillende verdachten, waaronder de bende van Picasso, waartoe ook Apollinaire behoorde. Uiteindelijk werd de dief gevonden, na 2 jaar, toen hij het kunstwerk in Italië te koop aanbood. Hij beweerde dat hij het schilderij gestolen had omdat hij vond dat het in Italië thuishoorde, en hij kwaad was dat Napoleon zoveel kunst geroofd had uit Italië. (De Mona Lisa behoorde echter niet tot de buit van Napoleon, maar was lang geleden door Frans I gekocht.
Boeiend verslag, met vele interessante weetjes.
Boeiend verslag, met vele interessante weetjes.
August 7, 2009
This is the story of the theft of the Mona Lisa from the Louvre in 1911. It's an interesting series of events, but you can get all the information about it you need from the wikipedia article, which I strongly suggest because the quality of writing in this book is abysmal. The author cannot resist adding flowery, melodramatic, and frequently nonsensical descriptions that practically writhe off the page. The whole thing calls to mind a ninth grader desperately trying to pad an essay.
Here's an example:
"Night like liquid velvet settled over the mansard roofs, innocent, if a night is ever innocent. A night is young but never innocent, and as Sunday merged with Monday and the city awakened to a new day, the game that would stun Paris and astound the world was afoot."
So wait, is the night innocent or not? Because I think that's really key to the crime here.
Here's an example:
"Night like liquid velvet settled over the mansard roofs, innocent, if a night is ever innocent. A night is young but never innocent, and as Sunday merged with Monday and the city awakened to a new day, the game that would stun Paris and astound the world was afoot."
So wait, is the night innocent or not? Because I think that's really key to the crime here.
October 26, 2016
Who knew the Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre!? Not me until I read this book! It's a well written and informative book. Very enjoyable read!
February 12, 2012
"1911 was a year of grand escapades. In the boatyards of Liverpool, a magnificent new ocean liner was under construction. Its builders boasted that it would be 'unsinkable.' In Antarctica, Captain Robert Falcon Scott was trudging across the frozen plateau to the South Pole, the Union Jack folded in his pack, dreaming of making history, and in Paris, a plan was brewing to pinch the most famous painting in the world. Of these three grand escapades, the first seemed assured of success, the second likely, and the third not only improbable but impossible."
Man, who doesn't love a good heist story? The theft of the Mona Lisa, stolen in 1911 and recovered in 1913, is on par with Ocean's Eleven with its eccentric list of suspects, apparent simplicity hiding complex pre-planning, and a theft that involved a tangled mass of accomplices and complications. The painting vanished practically into thin air one afternoon, leaving the French police scrambling for suspects (some of whom included young Pablo Picasso and Guillame Apollinaire) and going on a worldwide search for the stolen painting. One of the French detectives in charge of the case was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's inspiration for Sherlock Holmes, and used the case to test his theories on fingerprinting in order to solve a case. The entire world, meanwhile, went into straight-up mourning for the lost painting. The eventual culprit was caught, but seemed like such an unlikely criminal mastermind that no one believed he had really done it. Years later, a new story surfaced that revealed the real reasons for the theft, but hang on - even that story might be a lie. Even decades later, experts aren't sure exactly why the Mona Lisa was stolen. There are theories, but nothing has been conclusively proven yet.
If you've never heard that the Mona Lisa was stolen and are seriously intrigued by the story, then RA Scotti's book is a great crash course on the heist. She describes the painting's notoriety pre- and post-theft, goes into detail about the various suspects and their motivations, and discusses the history of the painting itself (such as who Mona Lisa really was and how da Vinci painted the work). The story reads like a Hollywood heist story, and it's a lot of fun. I have only two gripes: first, the story is only 227 pages long, so Scotti doesn't go into as much detail as I'd have liked when she discusses the theories behind the theft; and also, Scotti's narration has a tendency to run towards the melodramatic ("Mona Lisa had been spirited away, leaving no forwarding address.") to the point where I would read a breathlessly dramatic sentence and expect to hear the CSI: Miami theme song start blaring from the pages. Also, in this version the Mona Lisa is basically a character, and Scotti writes like it's a person that's been kidnapped:
"Men had been coming to court her for years, bearing flowers, notes, and poems... She accepted their attentions democratically but gave nothing in return, just the same half-smile. She conferred it on all equally. A promise, a tease, a warning. No man could be sure."
This is a painting Scotti's writing about. A painting. It got annoying, frankly, to keep reading about the Mona Lisa being referred to as "her." It's a painting, Scotti, not a human being. Try to calm down over there.
Man, who doesn't love a good heist story? The theft of the Mona Lisa, stolen in 1911 and recovered in 1913, is on par with Ocean's Eleven with its eccentric list of suspects, apparent simplicity hiding complex pre-planning, and a theft that involved a tangled mass of accomplices and complications. The painting vanished practically into thin air one afternoon, leaving the French police scrambling for suspects (some of whom included young Pablo Picasso and Guillame Apollinaire) and going on a worldwide search for the stolen painting. One of the French detectives in charge of the case was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's inspiration for Sherlock Holmes, and used the case to test his theories on fingerprinting in order to solve a case. The entire world, meanwhile, went into straight-up mourning for the lost painting. The eventual culprit was caught, but seemed like such an unlikely criminal mastermind that no one believed he had really done it. Years later, a new story surfaced that revealed the real reasons for the theft, but hang on - even that story might be a lie. Even decades later, experts aren't sure exactly why the Mona Lisa was stolen. There are theories, but nothing has been conclusively proven yet.
If you've never heard that the Mona Lisa was stolen and are seriously intrigued by the story, then RA Scotti's book is a great crash course on the heist. She describes the painting's notoriety pre- and post-theft, goes into detail about the various suspects and their motivations, and discusses the history of the painting itself (such as who Mona Lisa really was and how da Vinci painted the work). The story reads like a Hollywood heist story, and it's a lot of fun. I have only two gripes: first, the story is only 227 pages long, so Scotti doesn't go into as much detail as I'd have liked when she discusses the theories behind the theft; and also, Scotti's narration has a tendency to run towards the melodramatic ("Mona Lisa had been spirited away, leaving no forwarding address.") to the point where I would read a breathlessly dramatic sentence and expect to hear the CSI: Miami theme song start blaring from the pages. Also, in this version the Mona Lisa is basically a character, and Scotti writes like it's a person that's been kidnapped:
"Men had been coming to court her for years, bearing flowers, notes, and poems... She accepted their attentions democratically but gave nothing in return, just the same half-smile. She conferred it on all equally. A promise, a tease, a warning. No man could be sure."
This is a painting Scotti's writing about. A painting. It got annoying, frankly, to keep reading about the Mona Lisa being referred to as "her." It's a painting, Scotti, not a human being. Try to calm down over there.
April 13, 2009
“Vanished Smile” is a history of the theft and recovery of the Mona Lisa from the Louvre, but it reads more like a high-quality detective novel. Before reading this book, I had known the bare bones outline of the story—that the world’s most famous painting had been stolen from the wall it had graced for almost a century one day in 1911, and was only recovered after a lengthy absence. Scotti’s narrative fills in the details of a canvas every bit as rich as Leonardo’s own.
The narrative puts us at the scene of the crime, describes the international sensation it caused, sorts through the series of suspects (including the young Pablo Picasso) and theories about how and why the heist was committed, and takes us along as police finally recover the world’s most famous painting from a most unlikely thief. Scotti interweaves this gripping story with the back history of the Mona Lisa and covers the post-theft years as well.
Although relatively brief (211 pages), Scotti’s account manages to tell an exciting story and offer up a few intriguing reflections on the external mystery that is the Mona Lisa.
The narrative puts us at the scene of the crime, describes the international sensation it caused, sorts through the series of suspects (including the young Pablo Picasso) and theories about how and why the heist was committed, and takes us along as police finally recover the world’s most famous painting from a most unlikely thief. Scotti interweaves this gripping story with the back history of the Mona Lisa and covers the post-theft years as well.
Although relatively brief (211 pages), Scotti’s account manages to tell an exciting story and offer up a few intriguing reflections on the external mystery that is the Mona Lisa.
November 27, 2020
It's hard to believe, but it's true...in 1911, the Mona Lisa disappeared off the wall of the Louvre Museum in Paris.
And it was gone for two years. There were few clues, only a doorknob that had been taken off the door, the protective case that had enclosed it, and a left thumbprint (police only took right thumbprints at the time). No requests for money. No signs of it in the world. Gone.
So, how did the museum get it back? And where was it for those two years?
A fascinating true mystery for all of us who love Paris.
#2020ReadNonFic
And it was gone for two years. There were few clues, only a doorknob that had been taken off the door, the protective case that had enclosed it, and a left thumbprint (police only took right thumbprints at the time). No requests for money. No signs of it in the world. Gone.
So, how did the museum get it back? And where was it for those two years?
A fascinating true mystery for all of us who love Paris.
#2020ReadNonFic
August 27, 2021
Book: Vanished Smile: The Mysterious Theft of Mona Lisa
Author: R.A. Scotti
Publisher: Vintage; Reprint edition (6 April 2010)
Language: English
Paperback: 256 pages
Item Weight: 254 g
Dimensions: 13.21 x 1.45 x 20.32 cm
Price: 790/-
Early on the morning of August 22, 1911, an artist named Louis Beroud hurried toward the Musée dii Louvre, a paint box and folding easel in one hand and an uncompleted canvas in its wooden carrier in the other.
From his tattered clothes and somewhat underfed look it was apparent that the young artist was ‘struggling.” and in Paris at that time he had many counterparts. Some of his threadbare associations such as Braque, Utrillo, Dufy, Modigliani and a wild atalan named Picasso, would go on later to win substantial fame and success.
Regrettably for Beroud, he wasn’t destined to climb those heights, nor would he ever be acclaimed by the critics; but on that picky morning he would earn a footnote in the annals of a staggering crime that was to rock the foundations of the greatest art museum in the world—not to mention the Paris Prefecture of Police, the Süreté Nationale, and the mighty French government itself.
Beroud, uninformed of all this, was engrossed in his immediate plans.
As he started across the Pont Royal, the bronze hands of the huge clock on the Gare d’Orsay nudged 9 AM, and he quickened his steps; he wanted to get to the Louvre early and start work before the crowds began filtering in.
Lately he’d been having good luck; Philippe, the gallery owner, had sold several of his paintings and was waiting for more……..
Thereafter began the most outstanding chain of events.
Outside the Louvre in Paris, a day earlier, on the morning of Aug. 21, 1911: three men were quickening out of the museum. Sunday night was a life-size social night in Paris, so countless people were hung over on Monday morning. But the three handymen were far from hungover. They might have been a spot drained. They'd just spent the night in an art-supply closet. They'd stolen the "Mona Lisa."
A genius immortalized her. A French king paid a fortune for her. An emperor coveted her. Poets lauded her. Singers crooned of her. Advertisers exploited her.
No face has ever captivated so many for so long. Every year more than 9 million visitors trek to her portrait in the Louvre.
The half-length portrait of a woman by da Vinci, is acclaimed by John Lichfield as “the best known, the most visited, the most written about, the most sung about, and the most parodied work of art in the world.” The painting is thought to be a portrait of Lisa Gherardini, the wife of a successful silk merchant, and was painted circa 1503. It is now the property of the French Republic, on permanent display at the Louvre museum in Paris.
In 1962, the painting was assessed for insurance at $100,000,000. However, once adjusted for inflation, the iconic painting is worth somewhere to the tune of $760,000,000, making it one of the most (if not the most) valuable paintings in the world.
Her posture is perfect. Her shoulders are straight and hands are folded one across the other. She wears no jewelry, not even a wedding ring. If she reached a hand out, the gesture would seem perfectly natural. Her face is wide at the cheekbones, the forehead high, the chin pointed. Her nose is narrow, her lips pale and closed, the corners turned up ever so slightly in the famous smile. More than the smile, though, it is the eyes that captivate.
They are warm, brown, and inevitable.
Mona Lisa!
There is no other, no one more interesting, more intelligent, more compelling. And what is extraordinary, if a dozen others crowd into this room, each one will feel the same.
Each person who looks at her becomes the only person in her world. It is flattering and, at the same time, maddening, because she gives away nothing of herself.
A hundred years ago, French historian Jules Michelet wrote of the Mona Lisa, “This painting entices me, calls me, usurps me, absorbs me; I go to it in spite of myself, as the bird goes to the serpent.”
The story opens somewhere in the late 15th century. Mona Lisa Gherardini del Giocondo, we now know with as much certainty as possible after the passage of half a millennium, was a quintessential woman of her times, caught in a whirl of political upheavals, family dramas, and public scandals. Descended from ancient nobles, she was born and baptized in Florence in 1479. Wed to a truculent businessman twice her age, she gave birth to six children and died at age sixty-three. Lisa’s life spanned the most turbulent chapters in the history of Florence, decades of war, insurgence, invasion, blockade, and invasion—and of the greatest artistic outpouring the world has ever seen.
For generations, innumerable art lovers have been tempted and absorbed by her.
Before its theft, the "Mona Lisa" was not widely known outside the art world. Leonardo da Vinci painted it in 1507, but it wasn't until the 1860s that critics began to hail it as a masterwork of Renaissance painting.
And that judgment didn't filter outside a thin slice of French intelligentsia.
"The 'Mona Lisa' wasn't even the most famous painting in its gallery, let alone in the Louvre. It was 28 hours, until anyone even noticed the four bare hooks. The guy who noticed was a pushy still-life artist who set up his easel to paint that gallery in the Louvre. He felt he couldn't work as long as the 'Mona Lisa' wasn't there. But the artist wasn't alarmed. At that time, there was a project under way to photograph the Louvre's many works. Each piece had to be taken to the roof, since cameras of the day did not work well inside.So finally he persuaded a guard to go see how long the photographers were going to have the painting. He went off and came back, and said, 'You know what, the photographers say they don't have it!' "
This most exceptional book recounts the story, the ‘true story’, of what the burglar did and how he did it — a history of creative knavery on a scale which in the art world has never been equaled.
This is the remarkable true story of the most spectacular art robbery ever. And also its incredible aftermath!
In Paris in the early 1900s, one of these was a graceful gentleman of impeccable dress and manner; and the spell cast on him by the famous portrait was so intense that he decided to do something extraordinary. He was a man of noble and nefarious background, known as the Eduardo de Valfierno, who posed as a marqués (marquis), was supposedly an Argentine con man.
Eduardo, secure in the knowledge that for some, the craving to possess beautiful things knows no limits, conceived a masterful plan to profit from that insight. He needed the help of Yves Chaudron; the best art forger money could buy. While we're on the subject, Eduardo and Chaudron had collaborated in the past.
They also solicited the help of an Italian master-carpenter by the name of Perugia. Perugia knew the Louvre inside-out.
And thus began a saga of dark adventure.
Scotti has divided his book into 10 chapters:
1) A Perfect Crime
2) The Vanishing Act
3) The Hunt
4) The Blank Wall
5) Not the Usual Suspects
6) The Mystery Woman
7) A Letter from Leonardo
8) The Sting
9) A Perfect Story
10) The Prisoner
The narrative may read like detective fiction, but it decidedly isn’t. Everything described in these pages happened: the people are real people; so, too, are the names, places, dates, times and events.
Much of the dialogue also comes directly from official documents, news reports, letters and personal recollections. In some ins tances dialogue and soliloquy have had to be reconstructed, to add human dimension and advance the narrative; but such liberties have been kept to a minimum, and are fully consistent with what is known of the principals and their activities.
A thriller in the garb of non-fiction! Grab a copy if you choose.
Author: R.A. Scotti
Publisher: Vintage; Reprint edition (6 April 2010)
Language: English
Paperback: 256 pages
Item Weight: 254 g
Dimensions: 13.21 x 1.45 x 20.32 cm
Price: 790/-
Early on the morning of August 22, 1911, an artist named Louis Beroud hurried toward the Musée dii Louvre, a paint box and folding easel in one hand and an uncompleted canvas in its wooden carrier in the other.
From his tattered clothes and somewhat underfed look it was apparent that the young artist was ‘struggling.” and in Paris at that time he had many counterparts. Some of his threadbare associations such as Braque, Utrillo, Dufy, Modigliani and a wild atalan named Picasso, would go on later to win substantial fame and success.
Regrettably for Beroud, he wasn’t destined to climb those heights, nor would he ever be acclaimed by the critics; but on that picky morning he would earn a footnote in the annals of a staggering crime that was to rock the foundations of the greatest art museum in the world—not to mention the Paris Prefecture of Police, the Süreté Nationale, and the mighty French government itself.
Beroud, uninformed of all this, was engrossed in his immediate plans.
As he started across the Pont Royal, the bronze hands of the huge clock on the Gare d’Orsay nudged 9 AM, and he quickened his steps; he wanted to get to the Louvre early and start work before the crowds began filtering in.
Lately he’d been having good luck; Philippe, the gallery owner, had sold several of his paintings and was waiting for more……..
Thereafter began the most outstanding chain of events.
Outside the Louvre in Paris, a day earlier, on the morning of Aug. 21, 1911: three men were quickening out of the museum. Sunday night was a life-size social night in Paris, so countless people were hung over on Monday morning. But the three handymen were far from hungover. They might have been a spot drained. They'd just spent the night in an art-supply closet. They'd stolen the "Mona Lisa."
A genius immortalized her. A French king paid a fortune for her. An emperor coveted her. Poets lauded her. Singers crooned of her. Advertisers exploited her.
No face has ever captivated so many for so long. Every year more than 9 million visitors trek to her portrait in the Louvre.
The half-length portrait of a woman by da Vinci, is acclaimed by John Lichfield as “the best known, the most visited, the most written about, the most sung about, and the most parodied work of art in the world.” The painting is thought to be a portrait of Lisa Gherardini, the wife of a successful silk merchant, and was painted circa 1503. It is now the property of the French Republic, on permanent display at the Louvre museum in Paris.
In 1962, the painting was assessed for insurance at $100,000,000. However, once adjusted for inflation, the iconic painting is worth somewhere to the tune of $760,000,000, making it one of the most (if not the most) valuable paintings in the world.
Her posture is perfect. Her shoulders are straight and hands are folded one across the other. She wears no jewelry, not even a wedding ring. If she reached a hand out, the gesture would seem perfectly natural. Her face is wide at the cheekbones, the forehead high, the chin pointed. Her nose is narrow, her lips pale and closed, the corners turned up ever so slightly in the famous smile. More than the smile, though, it is the eyes that captivate.
They are warm, brown, and inevitable.
Mona Lisa!
There is no other, no one more interesting, more intelligent, more compelling. And what is extraordinary, if a dozen others crowd into this room, each one will feel the same.
Each person who looks at her becomes the only person in her world. It is flattering and, at the same time, maddening, because she gives away nothing of herself.
A hundred years ago, French historian Jules Michelet wrote of the Mona Lisa, “This painting entices me, calls me, usurps me, absorbs me; I go to it in spite of myself, as the bird goes to the serpent.”
The story opens somewhere in the late 15th century. Mona Lisa Gherardini del Giocondo, we now know with as much certainty as possible after the passage of half a millennium, was a quintessential woman of her times, caught in a whirl of political upheavals, family dramas, and public scandals. Descended from ancient nobles, she was born and baptized in Florence in 1479. Wed to a truculent businessman twice her age, she gave birth to six children and died at age sixty-three. Lisa’s life spanned the most turbulent chapters in the history of Florence, decades of war, insurgence, invasion, blockade, and invasion—and of the greatest artistic outpouring the world has ever seen.
For generations, innumerable art lovers have been tempted and absorbed by her.
Before its theft, the "Mona Lisa" was not widely known outside the art world. Leonardo da Vinci painted it in 1507, but it wasn't until the 1860s that critics began to hail it as a masterwork of Renaissance painting.
And that judgment didn't filter outside a thin slice of French intelligentsia.
"The 'Mona Lisa' wasn't even the most famous painting in its gallery, let alone in the Louvre. It was 28 hours, until anyone even noticed the four bare hooks. The guy who noticed was a pushy still-life artist who set up his easel to paint that gallery in the Louvre. He felt he couldn't work as long as the 'Mona Lisa' wasn't there. But the artist wasn't alarmed. At that time, there was a project under way to photograph the Louvre's many works. Each piece had to be taken to the roof, since cameras of the day did not work well inside.So finally he persuaded a guard to go see how long the photographers were going to have the painting. He went off and came back, and said, 'You know what, the photographers say they don't have it!' "
This most exceptional book recounts the story, the ‘true story’, of what the burglar did and how he did it — a history of creative knavery on a scale which in the art world has never been equaled.
This is the remarkable true story of the most spectacular art robbery ever. And also its incredible aftermath!
In Paris in the early 1900s, one of these was a graceful gentleman of impeccable dress and manner; and the spell cast on him by the famous portrait was so intense that he decided to do something extraordinary. He was a man of noble and nefarious background, known as the Eduardo de Valfierno, who posed as a marqués (marquis), was supposedly an Argentine con man.
Eduardo, secure in the knowledge that for some, the craving to possess beautiful things knows no limits, conceived a masterful plan to profit from that insight. He needed the help of Yves Chaudron; the best art forger money could buy. While we're on the subject, Eduardo and Chaudron had collaborated in the past.
They also solicited the help of an Italian master-carpenter by the name of Perugia. Perugia knew the Louvre inside-out.
And thus began a saga of dark adventure.
Scotti has divided his book into 10 chapters:
1) A Perfect Crime
2) The Vanishing Act
3) The Hunt
4) The Blank Wall
5) Not the Usual Suspects
6) The Mystery Woman
7) A Letter from Leonardo
8) The Sting
9) A Perfect Story
10) The Prisoner
The narrative may read like detective fiction, but it decidedly isn’t. Everything described in these pages happened: the people are real people; so, too, are the names, places, dates, times and events.
Much of the dialogue also comes directly from official documents, news reports, letters and personal recollections. In some ins tances dialogue and soliloquy have had to be reconstructed, to add human dimension and advance the narrative; but such liberties have been kept to a minimum, and are fully consistent with what is known of the principals and their activities.
A thriller in the garb of non-fiction! Grab a copy if you choose.
February 15, 2024
Very engaging. A heist + art history lesson: a formula for good narrative nonfiction. Plan to read Nicholas Day's The Mona Lisa Vanishes and Charney's The Thefts of the Mona Lisa when they come in, and I wonder if they can improve on Scotti's book. I'll be curious to see how they differ.
November 1, 2012
I found this book very interesting! I had to read it for my "France in Popular American Culture" course.
I really enjoyed how Scotti made it seem like a mystery novel by displaying clues little by little leading up to the big reveal.
It was a quick, fun read. I think anyone who is interested in France, or Art History would find this book interesting! Although I am not too interested in the latter, France as a whole intrigues me, and the hype around "Mona Lisa" is unmatchable, making the mysterious theft enthralling.
Overall, good non-fiction book. Interesting course material.
I really enjoyed how Scotti made it seem like a mystery novel by displaying clues little by little leading up to the big reveal.
It was a quick, fun read. I think anyone who is interested in France, or Art History would find this book interesting! Although I am not too interested in the latter, France as a whole intrigues me, and the hype around "Mona Lisa" is unmatchable, making the mysterious theft enthralling.
Overall, good non-fiction book. Interesting course material.
October 10, 2013
Scotti achieves near perfection in a book that I anticipated finding little interest but was overwhelmingly surprised with the fluid writing style and thorough research that seemed to cover every question I could surmise about its topic. This is a history book from which many other writers could take notes when it comes to presentation. Its Holmesian mystery was interwoven with facts from every angle that kept me enthralled throughout, and left me curious as to Scotti's other works, which I will soon be investigating. Do yourself a favor, and check her out.
January 6, 2020
This is a reasonably interesting non-fiction look at the 1911 theft of the Mona Lisa from the Louvre. I actually had never heard of this situation, but it was fascinating to see how crime was researched and "solved" in the early 1900's, mostly using interrogation and some crime scene examination. Photography was just starting out, so in this situation the very first mug shot was taken. And the same investigator also began using fingerprints, trying to solve the crime with his limited collection of right-thumb fingerprints, although the print he found on scene was of a left thumb. The crime was never solved definitively, although someone did come forward and confess years later, returning what seems to be the original artwork unharmed. But his story doesn't seem convincing, and there have been many contradictions discovered and suggestions made over the past 100 years. This book was quite readable. and the few pictures included were helpful. The funniest part, I thought, was when the painting was returned, it was all the rage for French society ladies to emulate the Mona Lisa by smiling very slightly and posing. That picture in my head just makes me laugh.
November 29, 2020
3.5 Interesting recounting of details from the 1911 theft and later recovery of ML, which led to some major improvements by the Louvre in protecting their art. The author may have stretched the story's length a bit, but I enjoyed the background info.
June 5, 2021
The Missing Lady
In a thorough account of this icon of Renaissance art, Scotti describes the week that Paris' Italian Lady disappeared from her home in the Louvre. From the early days of heartbreak for all of Paris, to the new forensic science; the author shares the details of the suspects, the key events of the day, and the investigation, and finally the eventual return of this prized work of art.
Adored, she received her own love letters and flowers from admirers, so when she went missing it seemed like a missing persons report. The affair was sensational on both sides of the Atlantic, with names of prominent men and women of the day figuring into the story. Afterward, Lisa was elevated to icon status, she has her own room and is enclosed in a special case for viewing. It is sad to see that, something special has been lost. Never again will we be able to see her in true light.
Mona Lisa has quite a bit of history. She even spent time in Napoleon's bedroom until being returned when he went into exile. (The emperor was a pillager of art, as well as conqueror of lands and people.) I enjoyed the Kindle version in Audible whisper-sync. The author writes well, and the narration is high quality. I recommend this for anyone interested in renaissance art and early 20th Century history, as the theft occurred in 1911.
In a thorough account of this icon of Renaissance art, Scotti describes the week that Paris' Italian Lady disappeared from her home in the Louvre. From the early days of heartbreak for all of Paris, to the new forensic science; the author shares the details of the suspects, the key events of the day, and the investigation, and finally the eventual return of this prized work of art.
"After her theft, Mona Lisa was recovered physically but never spiritually. She was found and lost."
Adored, she received her own love letters and flowers from admirers, so when she went missing it seemed like a missing persons report. The affair was sensational on both sides of the Atlantic, with names of prominent men and women of the day figuring into the story. Afterward, Lisa was elevated to icon status, she has her own room and is enclosed in a special case for viewing. It is sad to see that, something special has been lost. Never again will we be able to see her in true light.
"Leonardo made Mona Lisa a study in chiaroscuro—a painting of light and shadow. The contrapposto position, the hallucinatory background, and the sfumato technique were startling innovations in 1503."
Mona Lisa has quite a bit of history. She even spent time in Napoleon's bedroom until being returned when he went into exile. (The emperor was a pillager of art, as well as conqueror of lands and people.) I enjoyed the Kindle version in Audible whisper-sync. The author writes well, and the narration is high quality. I recommend this for anyone interested in renaissance art and early 20th Century history, as the theft occurred in 1911.
January 2, 2020
After two frustrating weeks, Lepine believed he had cracked the case. In la bande de Picasso he had found the international ring of art thieves he had been hunting. .... The Picasso 'gang' had been lionized as romantic renegades. When the police identified them as a ring of 'foreign thieves and swindlers who had come to France to plunder its treasure,' escapades once excused as careless exuberance assumed sinister overtones.
This covers quite a bit of material, even beyond the story of Mona Lisa's theft & eventual return - art history, police work, art forgery, and Europe's cultural & political climate of the time - it was an interesting experience to learn more about this crime!
It's honestly a bit baffling how easy it was for the theft to occur, and incredible how lax the security was at the time - but I didn't realize how much this event had contributed to the popularity of the painting (and I certainly didn't know that Guillaume Apollinaire and Pablo Picasso had been suspects!)
This covers quite a bit of material, even beyond the story of Mona Lisa's theft & eventual return - art history, police work, art forgery, and Europe's cultural & political climate of the time - it was an interesting experience to learn more about this crime!
It's honestly a bit baffling how easy it was for the theft to occur, and incredible how lax the security was at the time - but I didn't realize how much this event had contributed to the popularity of the painting (and I certainly didn't know that Guillaume Apollinaire and Pablo Picasso had been suspects!)
January 8, 2024
This was a fun tale of the theft of a masterpiece, the Mona Lisa. A short book, I thought the author did a good job of balancing the different elements of the story and keeping the flow going. She did get a little bit flowery with her language at times (which was a complaint on one of the reviews I read), but she was writing about the most famous painting in the world. I think the Mona Lisa deserves some flowers.
Pablo Picasso, who was originally one of the suspects interviewed by the Paris police, does not come across well, but I think from prior information I have read that he wasn't a great human being. He deserts his friends to save himself, though as his 'gang' weren't really clever enough to steal the painting, as easy as it seemed to be. And the story that came out many years later after Mona Lisa's return (she was only gone for about 2 years) about how the theft occurred is suspect as well. So the true story is not really known.
In the end, the Mona Lisa is returned, a little worse for wear but with a new and exciting chapter in her history. Italy and France got along for a very short time prior to the bloodbath of WW1, and security at the Louvre, and probably a lot of other museums, was show to be extremely inadequate and upgraded so other treasures weren't stolen and potentially lost. So a rare history book with a happy ending.
I was surprised at how much biographical information exists about Leonardo Da Vinci, but I don't read a lot of art history.
Pablo Picasso, who was originally one of the suspects interviewed by the Paris police, does not come across well, but I think from prior information I have read that he wasn't a great human being. He deserts his friends to save himself, though as his 'gang' weren't really clever enough to steal the painting, as easy as it seemed to be. And the story that came out many years later after Mona Lisa's return (she was only gone for about 2 years) about how the theft occurred is suspect as well. So the true story is not really known.
In the end, the Mona Lisa is returned, a little worse for wear but with a new and exciting chapter in her history. Italy and France got along for a very short time prior to the bloodbath of WW1, and security at the Louvre, and probably a lot of other museums, was show to be extremely inadequate and upgraded so other treasures weren't stolen and potentially lost. So a rare history book with a happy ending.
I was surprised at how much biographical information exists about Leonardo Da Vinci, but I don't read a lot of art history.
October 12, 2023
An interesting moment in history converted into a work of nonfiction that read like a choppy story by a high school student combined with a comedy of errors without the comedy.
Writing and formatting were as murky as the details of the case.
Jumped from convoluted tale of the Picasso gang most likely not stealing the painting, to a disjointed history of Da Vinci.
The amount of name dropping of people, places, other paintings and art works etc was more muddling than clarifying.
There was a particular tone that may have be bias from the author or an attempt to capture the feelings of the time. Like multiple references to people of believed Italian descent being casually called "macaronis". In any case, it was odd and off-putting, particularly when combined with the overarcing sense that everyone involved was nutty; all the key and bit players, all the connected countries were described in such a way as to have them seem like caricatures of humans.
Numerous factual statements that were presented in manners that had me questioning their validity.
"After her theft, Mona Lisa was recovered physically but never spiritually".
After spending time on a book that was neither enjoyable nor educational, I am uncertain as to whether I shall recover physically or spiritually.
Writing and formatting were as murky as the details of the case.
Jumped from convoluted tale of the Picasso gang most likely not stealing the painting, to a disjointed history of Da Vinci.
The amount of name dropping of people, places, other paintings and art works etc was more muddling than clarifying.
There was a particular tone that may have be bias from the author or an attempt to capture the feelings of the time. Like multiple references to people of believed Italian descent being casually called "macaronis". In any case, it was odd and off-putting, particularly when combined with the overarcing sense that everyone involved was nutty; all the key and bit players, all the connected countries were described in such a way as to have them seem like caricatures of humans.
Numerous factual statements that were presented in manners that had me questioning their validity.
"After her theft, Mona Lisa was recovered physically but never spiritually".
After spending time on a book that was neither enjoyable nor educational, I am uncertain as to whether I shall recover physically or spiritually.
February 8, 2020
This is some of the best nonfiction I've read in a long time. It was no surprise to me to learn that the author has written novels as well--the writing was fast-paced and engrossing. The story of the theft of the Mona Lisa works well in the nonfiction format, though, because otherwise it would be almost too incredible to believe. No one noticing the painting was gone until the day after the theft? Pablo Picasso called in front of the judge on suspicion of being involved? An international art forgery conspiracy? So much drama and mystery here, but the biggest enigma remains the Mona Lisa herself (the author treats the Mona Lisa as a character in her own right.) I've visited the Mona Lisa in the Louvre several times, but had no idea about this episode in the history behind the painting. Vanished Smile is well worth reading for anyone interested in history and/or art.
2020 Reading Challenge Category: A book with a map.
2020 Reading Challenge Category: A book with a map.
August 24, 2025
Het verhaal over de roof van de Mona Lisa kende ik niet, en daarom was dit boek erg leuk om te lezen. Het voelt wel alsof de auteur af en toe van de hak op de tak springt en allerlei dingen erbij haalt die niet relevant zijn, maar uiteindelijk komt alles toch samen tot een mooi verhaal. Ze schrijft wel echt enorm wollig, en het deed mij af en toe een beetje denken aan een student die een woordenaantal moet halen voor zijn scriptie.
Mocht je geïnteresseerd zijn in alleen de roof, dan is misschien het Wikipedia artikel lezen makkelijker. De auteur probeert in dit boek een groter beeld te schetsen en behandeld niet alleen de roof zelf, maar ook bijvoorbeeld een deel van het leven van Picasso en zijn vrienden en de kunstroof van Napoleon uit Italië. Mocht je al deze bijzaken ook interessant vinden (want heel eerlijk, het zorgt wel voor het meest complete beeld van de roof) dan zou ik dit boek zeker aanraden!
Mocht je geïnteresseerd zijn in alleen de roof, dan is misschien het Wikipedia artikel lezen makkelijker. De auteur probeert in dit boek een groter beeld te schetsen en behandeld niet alleen de roof zelf, maar ook bijvoorbeeld een deel van het leven van Picasso en zijn vrienden en de kunstroof van Napoleon uit Italië. Mocht je al deze bijzaken ook interessant vinden (want heel eerlijk, het zorgt wel voor het meest complete beeld van de roof) dan zou ik dit boek zeker aanraden!
December 16, 2018
I was not particularly inspired or moved emotionally by La Joconde when I visited her at the Louvre. I wanted to learn a little bit more about the events that turned her into a global icon, and this book fits that goal nicely. It takes you on the journey of her theft and it's resulting international media circus, and then her recovery and it's resulting media circus.
Sketches of the players, international politics, and historical climate help flush out why the world was willing to be consumed by the myth of La Joconde. Also, the development of sensationalistic journalism, experiencing a peak in the serialization of news stories, is delved into as a contributing factor in the spread of her popularity.
Sketches of the players, international politics, and historical climate help flush out why the world was willing to be consumed by the myth of La Joconde. Also, the development of sensationalistic journalism, experiencing a peak in the serialization of news stories, is delved into as a contributing factor in the spread of her popularity.
March 24, 2020
Vanished Smile: The Mysterious Theft of the Mona Lisa was such an interesting read. If you love yourself a good mystery, this book will be perfect for you. It is written and read like a good mystery full of much action. It's a real page turner where you can not put this book down because throughout the book you want to find out what happened to the world famous painting. I highly recommend this book not only for art lovers, but those who love mysteries and historical events from the past. "The only thing that's important is the legend created by the picture, and not whether it continues to exist itself."-Pablo Picasso
December 11, 2020
Zeer flauw. Al van bij de aanvang is het duidelijk dat dit geen literair werk is. Toch heb ik nog een tijd doorgelezen, gewoon uit nieuwsgierigheid, maar toen de schrijfster alsmaar ter plaatse bleef trappen, heb ik het uiteindelijk nog voor halfweg opgegeven en heb de rest van het verhaal opgezocht op Wikipedia. Want dat is het niveau dat door de schrijfster wordt gehaald en heeft daarbij het voordeel veel beknopter te zijn.
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August 30, 2021In 1911, the Mona Lisa was stolen from the walls of the Louvre in Paris. R. A. Scotti’s entertaining story-telling focuses as much on the painting’s history and appeal as on the crime itself. Scotti frequently refers to the canvas as “her” or “she” as if the Mona Lisa is is a character with its own will. Some might find this annoying, but for me it underscored the painting’s vibrancy and allure.
May 6, 2023
Very interesting, a little boring
October 11, 2024
If you are a fan of art history, very interesting book.
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April 21, 2025I'm so happy to finally have a full picture of the various reasons that the Mona Lisa came to be the best-known painting in the world.
February 22, 2023
Not enough Picasso Slander.
April 14, 2009
This is a decent book, reflected by the middling score that I've given it. I guess I could start with the pros, and work my way to the cons.
On the plus side, it's chock full of sensational facts and history, and the author does a fantastic job of bringing to life the period under discussion.
Also, while some may take issue with the casual fictionalizations of the characters and plot points that R.A. Scotti employs, I thought it was really fun, and certainly made it a more entertaining than a bare-bones historical non-fiction book would have been on its own.
However, I wasn't really taken with how much time he spent on each individual aspect of the story and the mystery of the disappearance of the Mona Lisa. For me, it would have been a much more engaging read if all of the different threads had been woven together. I would have liked a short bit about the painting itself, a short bit about the culture of the time, a short bit about the Louvre, etc., instead of long passages all about one aspect, then moving on to the next.
All in all, that's a minor complaint, I suppose, but I think it would have helped me get through the book a little faster. Beyond that, while it was a nice read, and the writer certainly has a lot of skill with language and rhetoric, I can't say that the subject matter was really enthralling. I learned a lot from the book, which is what I had hoped for, but it didn't make me want to go out and learn more, which I think can be seen as something of a shortcoming of the book as well.
On the plus side, it's chock full of sensational facts and history, and the author does a fantastic job of bringing to life the period under discussion.
Also, while some may take issue with the casual fictionalizations of the characters and plot points that R.A. Scotti employs, I thought it was really fun, and certainly made it a more entertaining than a bare-bones historical non-fiction book would have been on its own.
However, I wasn't really taken with how much time he spent on each individual aspect of the story and the mystery of the disappearance of the Mona Lisa. For me, it would have been a much more engaging read if all of the different threads had been woven together. I would have liked a short bit about the painting itself, a short bit about the culture of the time, a short bit about the Louvre, etc., instead of long passages all about one aspect, then moving on to the next.
All in all, that's a minor complaint, I suppose, but I think it would have helped me get through the book a little faster. Beyond that, while it was a nice read, and the writer certainly has a lot of skill with language and rhetoric, I can't say that the subject matter was really enthralling. I learned a lot from the book, which is what I had hoped for, but it didn't make me want to go out and learn more, which I think can be seen as something of a shortcoming of the book as well.
August 15, 2011
I once viewed Mona Lisa in the Louvre, or, I should say, I caught a glimpse of her behind her protective glass while craning my neck around the heads of people taller than me. It was there, but how anyone could enjoy the experience of viewing it I cannot imagine. But in 1911 in the Louvre, one could get close enough to enjoy the painting - close enough, in fact, to remove it from the wall if one so chose, particularly when the guard was on a lunch break, or when the museum was closed for cleaning on Mondays. And it was on a Monday that Mona Lisa left the Louvre for a two-year mysterious adventure that had the world completely baffled.
R. A. Scotti really covers all the bases in this short but informative history, filling it with persons famous and infamous, rich and poor, powerful and powerless, all brought together by Leonardo Da Vinci's most famous painting.
The story of Mona Lisa's abduction and return contains a few surprises*, a bit of art history, some detective work, quite a lot of European history and politics, and of course, the famous enigmatic smile.
*I, for one, did not know that Guillaume Appolinaire and Pablo Picasso were suspects in the crime. (!)
"After two frustrating weeks, Lepine believed he had cracked the case. In la bande de Picasso he had found the international ring of art thieves he had been hunting. .... The Picasso 'gang' had been lionized as romantic renegades. When the police identified them as a ring of 'foreign thieves and swindlers who had come to France to plunder its treasure,' escapades once excused as careless exuberance assumed sinister overtones."
R. A. Scotti really covers all the bases in this short but informative history, filling it with persons famous and infamous, rich and poor, powerful and powerless, all brought together by Leonardo Da Vinci's most famous painting.
The story of Mona Lisa's abduction and return contains a few surprises*, a bit of art history, some detective work, quite a lot of European history and politics, and of course, the famous enigmatic smile.
*I, for one, did not know that Guillaume Appolinaire and Pablo Picasso were suspects in the crime. (!)
"After two frustrating weeks, Lepine believed he had cracked the case. In la bande de Picasso he had found the international ring of art thieves he had been hunting. .... The Picasso 'gang' had been lionized as romantic renegades. When the police identified them as a ring of 'foreign thieves and swindlers who had come to France to plunder its treasure,' escapades once excused as careless exuberance assumed sinister overtones."
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