“There are so many more breath-taking works in the Louvre. What is it with the Mona Lisa and why is she so famous?” a visitor asked.

Surely, many have wondered over many years.

The Mona Lisa, or La Gioconda, is among thousands of works on display at the world-famous Louvre in Paris. Why has it achieved such international fame? Is it the wry smile, the mystery behind the eyes of the subject? Is it Leonardo da Vinci, the highly acclaimed artist, scientist, and inventor that created the likeness of the wife of a wealthy Italian merchant?

Are there special clues within? On the left of the scene one can see a well-traveled path. Could it be that the subject traveled from a far away place, maybe even other worldly, and only for a visit to let her hair down, where she could express herself with that wry smile and all-knowing gaze without the social scaffolding of her homeland that would hem in her true personality? 

Her smile has been described in her time as very alluring. Would teenage boys of the Italian and French Renaissance have hung her poster on the walls of their bedrooms, if such a thing was available then, like the sexy and somewhat wholesome smile of the 1970s Farrah Fawcett?

One continues to guess.

There are two issues that have swirled and surrounded the painting that have created the controversy around the work. The first notice brought it to the attention of powerful people, and then the second event brought it to the contemporary conciseness of the entire world.

First, the fact that the Mona Lisa is at the Louvre in France is still a bone of contention for many Italians. It was as recently as May 15, 2024 that a French Court has re-affirmed the ownership of the famous painting as belonging to the French people and to the Louvre. 

How did she come to be in France?

Francis I, (1494-1547) King of France from 1515-1547, loved the Italian Renaissance, a love he inherited from his mother. And even though it was a very tumultuous time with the constant engagement in violent wars with Italy, in 1516 the King invited Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) the Italian Master Painter, to his homeland. When da Vinci arrived in France to work at the Chateau du Clos Luce, together with studio assistants and supplies, he had a very special, but yet currently obscure painting in tow.

Financial ties between the Monarchy and da Vinci are on record. The King provided support for the artist. The Chateau stood very near the Royal residence and they were in each other’s company often. And for the last few years of da Vinci’s life, he continued to put details in paint and glazes on what would become his most famous artwork. Upon Leonardo’s death in 1519, Francis I acquired many works, including the Mona Lisa for 4000 gold coins, which he purchased from da Vinci’s most trusted assistant.

 

The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne, another of da Vinci's 
paintings brought to France along with the Mona Lisa

 

The painting hung quietly for centuries. It was in the private holdings of the Royal family and in isolated quarters until the “Sun King” Louis XIV (1638-1715) transported and installed the Mona Lisa in what would become his biggest obsession, the Palace of Versailles. (Much to the exasperation of his noble subjects, he spent the country’s fortune to rebuild an old hunting lodge to be the new court seat. It was almost unbearable for many in his court that preferred Paris.) 

Then, hidden and protected by the museum specialists during the French Revolution, the painting made its way back to the Louvre.

Mona finally arrived for public view for the first time in the Louvre in 1797. The placement was short lived. In 1800 the infamous Emperor Napoleon, taken with the gaze of the subject, enjoyed the subtle smile in the bedroom at Tuileries Palace in Paris. There it stayed for about four years.

During this entire time of movement and transfer of the painting, it was still not what is today, world renowned. It wasn’t until she went missing…

August 21, 1911

The general public hadn’t yet discovered her. It wasn’t until an employee of the Louvre, a preparator that actually worked on the protective glass cover of the painting, decided that he needed to return the painting to Italy and to its rightful owners. Vincenzo Perugia, an Italian born employee of the Louvre, felt that it had been pilfered by the French, specifically Napoleon, and folded into the Royal collection at the Louvre illegally. (As previously discussed here, a conclusion could be drawn that that was not the case.) So, how was the painting removed?

Like many art museums, even today, artists were allowed to sit in the galleries and paint replicas of existing works they used for inspiration and the practice of techniques. The Louvre was no exception. That required store rooms for easels and supplies that the students could use for their day to day experimentations. It was in one of the storage closets that Vincenzo, after he entered the building during regular working hours hid until the museum closed. He then walked out of the building with the painting wrapped in his coat. It has been reported that Perugia had co-conspirators. To keep three men quiet for the period of two years seems unlikely, especially with the incredible number of newspaper reports of rewards offered for Mona’s return.

At first, authorities looked to see if it was out for restoration work or out to be photographed. Neither was the case. Then, much to the chagrin of the totally humiliated and embarrassed security and staff of the Louvre, it became front page news around the world. The international public was entranced by the story.

The Mona Lisa was now famous.

Two long years. The trail cold. Investigators exhausted every lead and angle. 

Investigators visited Vincenzo Perugia’s apartment and questioned him twice. There, the painting lay in the false bottom of a trunk and was never discovered. 

The length of time to hold this secret had to be a challenge. Perhaps it was the exhaustion of all the time that passed as he waited for a potential payoff for all his trouble, but it wasn’t until then that Perugia brought the painting to a well-established and respected Italian gallery. The owner of the gallery called in colleagues to authenticate the painting, found it to be the missing painting, then called the authorities. There was the arrest and the announcement of the recovery of the now famous artwork that went all around the world. The Mona Lisa was returned to the Louvre in 1914.

 

After the trial, Vincenzo Perugia was hailed as an Italian patriot. He was seen as a hero by his countrymen. He served only seven months.

After his discharge from prison, he fought for the Italian army in the first World War. He was captured and held as a prisoner of war for two years then released. He married, had a daughter, and returned to France to work as a painter/decorator. He died on his 44th birthday in 1925, without much notice, probably due to his using his first name Pietro, given to him at birth.

Three inadvertent effects of the theft.

Newspapers/Publishers

It is impossible to calculate the profits gained by the press and its journalists during this period of international intrigue. Daily reports of the case kept readers buying. Subscriptions must have soared. There were convoluted theories and Mona Lisa look alike contests. Journalists were under pressure to report it all. The papers surely had a punch up in sales, a windfall.

Apollinaire/Picasso

Guillaume Apollinaire, a French poet rather well known in the artistic avant- garde circles and movements of the time was arrested and jailed for the suspected theft of the Mona Lisa. Pablo Picasso, the yet-to-be famous Spanish painter was also arrested and questioned. There was a trial. Both were exonerated. 

The effects of the arrest and holding of Apollinaire weighed heavily on the 31-year-old writer. He suffered financial losses for the blight on his reputation. It took a toll and time to recover. 

It was, though, during this time and in just a few years that his effects on the artistic movements of Paris were acknowledged. Apollinaire was responsible for creating the phrases “cubism”, “orphism”, and “surrealism” that the art world would embrace as they described the modern art experiments that were being developed in Paris.

Mona/Louvre

Her presence still overwhelms. Her fame of 114 years has reached a fever pitch. Just recently, the staff of the Louvre went on strike to emphasize the incredible problems brought on by the single lady’s fame, and the popularity of the portrait that just won’t ease. 

Now, they are moving Mona to her very own room to help with traffic flow and ease overcrowding. Will the public ever get their fill? ⬥

 

 

Kevin Boehm is the Founder of Grand Rapids Artists Bureau. He has been working in the world of visual art for over 35 years and finds fascinating the past, present, and the promise of the future of visual art in our community. Kevin credits then research of others that have provided the insights into the lives of such important and interesting individuals; Artists that create(d), sometimes, such iconic imagery.

 

 

Additional sources used for this article:

Hoyt, Robert S. & Stanley Chodorow, Europe in the Middle Ages (Harcourt, Brace & Jovanovich Inc.: New York, 1976), p. 619.

Sammer, Jan (2009). "L'Invitation du roi". In Pedretti, Carlo (ed.). Léonard de Vinci et la
France (in French). CB Edizioni. pp. 29–33.

Chaundy, Bob (29 September 2006). "Faces of the Week". BBC. Archived from the original on 3 August 2014. Retrieved 5 October 2007.