The Mona Lisa by Leonardo Da Vinci

Possibly, the most famous case of art theft was the theft of the Mona Lisa in 1911. There were several famous suspects in this case. The French Poet Guillaume Apollinaire was accused of stealing the Mona Lisa from its home in the Louvre Museum, located in Paris. Apollinaire had once proclaimed the Lourve should be "burned to the ground". It was this comment that brought him under a cloud of suspicion. He was arrested and brought in for questioning. During the interrogation he mentioned the name of his good friend and famous painter Pablo Picasso. Picasso was also brought in for questioning. Both were later aquitted. For some time, the whereabouts of the painting was unknown. Many feared that it would never be recovered.

Two years later, it was discovered that an Italian museum employee, Vincenzo Peruggia, stole the Mona Lisa by leaving the museum with the painting hidden under his coat. Peruggia believed the Mona Lisa to be a symbol of Italy and felt it should have been returned to its homeland.

The Mona Lisa