Claim Picasso stole the Mona Lisa.
Timeline beat 21 Aug 1911 — Taken from the Louvre
He was questioned and cleared. The convicted thief is Vincenzo Peruggia.
Darker cells mean a higher score for this topic on that metric.
Notoriety92
Mystery15
Scale50
Evidence80
Legal impact40
Culture90
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Quick answers
When was the Mona Lisa stolen?
On 21 August 1911, from the Salon Carré of the Louvre in Paris. The empty wall was noticed on 22 August. The painting was missing for twenty-eight months.
Who took it?
Vincenzo Peruggia, an Italian-born former Louvre glazier and handyman. He was arrested in Florence in December 1913 after offering the panel through dealer Alfredo Geri. A Florence court convicted him.
When did the painting return?
It was authenticated in Florence in December 1913, shown briefly in Italy and returned to the Louvre in January 1914. It has remained in the French national collection since, now in the Salle des États.
Were Picasso and Apollinaire involved?
No. Apollinaire was arrested because of an earlier, separate Louvre theft of small Iberian sculptures by an acquaintance. Picasso was questioned. Both were cleared of the Mona Lisa. The episode is a documented false lead.
Why did Peruggia say he took it?
He offered a patriotic story: that the work belonged in Italy. Leonardo had brought the portrait to France himself, and it had long been in the French royal collection. The court treated a motive speech as a motive speech, not as title to the panel.
Did the theft make the Mona Lisa famous?
It made the face universally famous. Specialists already ranked the portrait high. Two years of newspaper reproductions and a triumphant 1914 return created the modern pilgrimage picture.
The operational story is one Monday. The recovery story is twenty-eight months.
Dates follow Paris police, Uffizi and Louvre public chronology.
Timeline
JanuaryFebruaryMarchAprilMayJuneJulyAugustSeptemberOctoberNovemberDecember
- Taken from the Louvre
Leonardo's portrait leaves the Salon Carré. The empty wall is noticed the next day and becomes a European news story.
- Apollinaire arrested
The poet is held over a separate Louvre sculpture theft by an acquaintance. Picasso is questioned. Both are cleared of the Mona Lisa.
- Press reproductions
Newspapers circulate the face worldwide as a missing object. Mass recognition of the smile dates to this gap.
- Geri and the Uffizi
A man offering the painting contacts Florentine dealer Alfredo Geri. Uffizi director Giovanni Poggi examines the panel.
- Peruggia arrested
Vincenzo Peruggia is arrested in Florence. The portrait is authenticated as the Louvre's Leonardo.
- Shown in Italy
Italian crowds see the recovered picture before its return, a brief patriotic display that does not change legal title.
- Returned to the Louvre
The panel comes back to Paris. Visitor numbers and souvenir reproductions jump. The pilgrimage picture is born.
- Florence conviction
A Florentine court convicts Peruggia. The term is short. He has offered a patriotic motive that does not give him title.
- Duchamp's L.H.O.O.Q.
A postcard joke assumes the face is already common property — evidence of the theft's cultural afterlife.
- Salle des États crowds
The painting's modern bulletproof hang and ticketed crowds are the long echo of 1911–14 fame, not of a still-missing work.
Claim versus timeline
Each public-record claim on this dossier sits beside the timeline chapter already on the page.
Public-record encyclopedia. Not legal advice, not a how-to, not a private file.
Claim The painting is still missing.
Timeline beat Sep 1911 — Apollinaire arrested
It returned to the Louvre in January 1914 and remains there.
Claim Peruggia was restoring Italy's rightful property.
Timeline beat 1911–13 — Press reproductions
Leonardo had taken the portrait to France. It was a French royal then national picture. A motive speech is not a title deed.
Claim A vast conspiracy moved the panel.
Timeline beat Nov–Dec 1913 — Geri and the Uffizi
The public record is one convicted former worker and a Florence recovery. Larger plots are later invention.
Beat weight marks
Mark each timeline beat already on this dossier as supported, contested or unknown, using the public-record claims already filed here. Not a verdict.
Editorial marks on this device only. Public-record encyclopedia — not legal advice, not a how-to, not a private file.
| Timeline beat | Supported / Contested / Unknown |
|---|---|
| 21 Aug 1911 — Taken from the Louvre Claim already on file: Picasso stole the Mona Lisa. | |
| Sep 1911 — Apollinaire arrested Claim already on file: The painting is still missing. | |
| 1911–13 — Press reproductions Claim already on file: Peruggia was restoring Italy's rightful property. | |
| Nov–Dec 1913 — Geri and the Uffizi Claim already on file: A vast conspiracy moved the panel. | |
| Dec 1913 — Peruggia arrested Claim already on file: A vast conspiracy moved the panel. | |
| Dec 1913 — Shown in Italy Claim already on file: A vast conspiracy moved the panel. | |
| Jan 1914 — Returned to the Louvre Claim already on file: A vast conspiracy moved the panel. | |
| 1914 — Florence conviction Claim already on file: A vast conspiracy moved the panel. | |
| 1919 — Duchamp's L.H.O.O.Q. Claim already on file: A vast conspiracy moved the panel. | |
| 2005– — Salle des États crowds Claim already on file: A vast conspiracy moved the panel. |
After January 1914 the timeline is celebrity, not recovery.
Public-record encyclopedia. Not legal advice. Not a how-to. Graphic detail is withheld. Wars belong in a separate atlas.