Man disguised as woman throws cake at Mona Lisa

The Mona Lisa is the most valuable painting in the world. The work of art has often been the victim of vandalism. Now another visitor tried to damage the picture.

A man dressed as a woman tried to damage Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa at the Louvre art museum in Paris on Sunday. In the hall, which is usually filled with tourists, the man got up and threw a cake at the picture. The tourists witnessed this, filmed and photographed the situation.

It is not known whether the perpetrator is mentally ill. He entered the room disguised as a woman, with a wig, a woman’s dress and a wheelchair. Immediately after the action, he scattered rose petals on the floor in front of the painting.

However, the man did not damage the picture. Because the Mona Lisa has often been assassinated, it is protected by a glass case. Only the glass was smeared, the picture itself remained untouched. Security personnel and the police immediately took the man away.

People have tried several times to damage Leonardo da Vinci’s painting. In 2009, a Russian threw a teacup at the work of art. The glass display case also showed its usefulness there, the cup broke on the display case. Also, two attackers attempted to attack the Mona Lisa in the 1950s. They threw acid and a rock at the painting, slightly damaging it.

Painting gone for two years

But the most sensational action happened in 1911. At that time, the Italian immigrant Vincenzo Peruggia stole the Mona Lisa. He knew the rooms in the Louvre because of his previous position as a glazier. He managed to gain entry through the employee entrance. For two years he kept the picture in his accommodation in France.

Search operations at home and abroad were unsuccessful. Peruggia attracted attention because he tried to sell the picture for around 1.5 million euros. The antiques dealer Alfredo Geri, together with his friend Giovanni Poggi, accepted the offer – and thus convicted the perpetrator, who was immediately forwarded to the police. Two and a half years after the theft, the Mona Lisa returned to the Louvre.

According to the 1999 Guinness Book of World Records, the Mona Lisa is the most expensive painting in the world. In 1962 the insurance value was estimated at 100 million dollars, which today corresponds to approximately 850 million dollars, taking into account inflation.