Being the most famous woman in the world does not only have advantages… Poor Monna Lisa, condemned to live for eternity under high protection, behind thick armor as a bodyguard, to avoid ending up in pieces, like it almost happened to him several times over the past hundred years. On Sunday again, the Mona Lisa did not lose her eternal and enigmatic smile when she was the target of a custard tart at the Louvre Museum, fortunately protected by armored glass. But the list of outrages is long.
The first dates back to 1911, when the Italian Vincenzo Peruggia managed to steal it from the beard of the guards. It must be said that the man is a glazier who has his habits at the Louvre for having already protected several works under glass. He took the painting home, hid it in the false bottom of a suitcase under his bed and contacted an antique dealer in Florence to profit from it – who denounced him in 1913. In his defense, the man argued that he thus wanted to save the honor of Italy, and recover a work of heritage, while denouncing in passing the kidnappings of Napoleon – if it is true that the Emperor recovered a number of works during his conquests, remember that the Mona Lisa was purchased by Francis I in the early 16th century.
Here is Monna Lisa returned entirely to the fold, but from now on placed under reinforced protection. It must be said that his flight was widely covered by a booming press, and his tribulations, experienced as a thriller, went around the world. Nothing better than a beautiful scandal to make the headlines… From then on, her notoriety will make her the foil for all the excited people on the planet, anxious to attract the attention of the media.
In 1956, a young Bolivian throws a stone at the painting and the broken glass slightly damages the paint, requiring a small restoration. The man was working in France and was threatened with expulsion, a way of making his case heard… The Louvre Museum then decided to strengthen the protective measures, in particular by installing thicker glass. With good reason since the attacks continue: in 1974, during an exhibition in Japan, a young woman tries to sprinkle red paint on the painting, without managing to damage it; and in August 2009, a visibly unbalanced Russian visitor was arrested after throwing a cup against the armored glass, which was only scratched. Last blow: the scaling this Sunday, May 29 by a man who wanted to draw attention to the degradation of the planet…
You have to believe that Monna Lisa has the gift of unleashing passions… She was already pampered by François I, who would have hung her delicately in the apartment of the Baths in Fontainebleau, then by Louis XIV in Versailles, before being recovered by Napoleon I, who installed it in Josephine’s apartments, before pouring the painting into the collections of the new Louvre museum, allowing as many people as possible to come and admire it.
They are now nearly 30,000 fans who flock every day to Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece, protected behind its armored glass, a success which also presents a threat, especially since the Mona Lisa remains impossible to insure, as Beaux-Arts magazine recently explained – the painting is estimated at two billion euros, the most expensive in the world. But the crowd isn’t necessarily Monna Lisa’s greatest danger: her portrait is most weakened by a crack that appeared on the poplar wood panel on which it was painted over 500 years ago. The secure showcase is also air-conditioned to prevent the wood from working and disfiguring the most famous star of the Louvre from the inside…
