The Insane Way A Man In A Wig Attempted To Defile The Mona Lisa
An enraged man attempted to completely defile the renowned Mona Lisa painting in one absolutely mind-boggling way.
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The Mona Lisa and the Louvre in Paris had a whirlwind of press over the weekend. Somebody disguised as an older woman in a wheelchair attempted to deface the beloved painting. The bandit tried throwing a piece of cake at the Mona Lisa, which landed all over the painting’s protective glass. The man was then escorted promptly out of the museum by a security team.
The reason for the startling vandalism attempt: protecting the earth. A video posted on social media showed the culprit screaming “think of the Earth” as they were taken out of the Louvre. The vandalism was quickly cleaned up from the Mona Lisa by a museum worker as onlookers photographed the cake smearing. If a thick sheet of glass didn’t guard the painting, the renowned image could’ve been permanently defiled.
After security escorted the person out of the museum, the 36-year-old was sent to a psychiatric unit. But this isn’t the first time someone tried to vandalize the 16th-century painting. Before the glass was constructed in front of the Mona Lisa, an attack occurred in the 1950s to damage the creation. This person threw acid at the painting, attempting to deface it permanently. After the bulletproof glass was constructed, a woman threw a cup at the glass out of anger. The reasoning was apparently because she couldn’t get French citizenship. Even with all the attempted damage, the Mona Lisa reigns supreme and is still in fantastic condition.
Though the Mona Lisa has had many physical attacks, the painting is most known for being stolen in the early 1900s. The theft of the DaVinci creation led to its extreme popularity. Vincent Peruggia was an art thief who entered the Louvre in 1911 with a convincing museum worker outfit. His white smock fooled other employees, which allowed him to get close to the Mona Lisa and swipe it. Before transferring it to Italy, he hid the painting in his apartment for two years. He eventually got caught when he contacted a museum in Florence, aiming to sell the artwork for a large sum. Its also speculated that Peruggia stole the painting for patriotic reasons, wanting to deliver it back to Italy after being taken by the Napoleon empire.
The story of the Mona Lisa being taken from the Louvre pushed it to international fame. The theft kept the painting in the press and the news for the following years, amplifying one of DaVinci’s lesser-known creations at the time. Once returned to the Louvre, the Mona Lisa started being reproduced enormously. An estimated 300 paintings and 2,000 advertisements included the Mona Lisa over the next decade. Today, millions of people visit the Louvre every year, and the Mona Lisa is its biggest attraction.
The Mona Lisa seems to receive the most attempts at physical destruction due to its mass popularity. The bulletproof glass constructed in front of the painting has protected it for almost 70 years and continues to obstruct potential violators. Though the cake-throwing culprit wanted to bring attention to climate change, it’s unknown how beneficial the stunt was to help the cause.
