The Mona Lisa gets a pie in the face.
It might sound like a joke, but unfortunately, it is not.
Yesterday afternoon, a boy dressed in women’s clothing and wearing a wig entered the Louvre and threw a pie at the masterpiece by Leonardo.
The tragedy was averted; thanks to the glass case protecting the canvas, it suffered no damage, but the incident is still thought-provoking.
People are wondering how the vandal managed to enter the world’s most famous museum, disguised and with a pie, successfully carrying out his plan.
His motivations seem to have been ethical: “I did it for planet Earth,” he said to the bewildered crowd before being escorted away by security guards.
This time the Mona Lisa escaped unharmed, but it is not the first time she has been the target of vandalism.
Let’s take a step back.
It was 1911 when Vincenzo Peruggia, an Italian painter and restorer, managed to steal the artwork. Hiding in a small room in the Louvre, once the museum was closed, he was able to remove the Mona Lisa from its frame and escape through a back door, which he forced open with a small knife.
Peruggia, once unmasked, claimed he was motivated by patriotic spirit, wanting to “only” bring the famous work back to Italy, more precisely to the Uffizi, the museum where he attempted to sell it for several million lire.
Many years later, in 1956, it faced two more attacks, one with acid and another with a stone.
But that’s not all: in 1974, a woman sprayed red paint on the artwork while it was on display in Japan.
Finally, in 2009, another woman threw a cup of tea at the Mona Lisa, which, in that case, shattered against the glass case, causing no damage to the painting.
In short, the Mona Lisa has never had an easy life, and to be honest, she is not the only one to have been attacked throughout history.
Another victim of incomprehensible acts has been one of the most beautiful and significant works by Rembrandt, “The Night Watch.”
The work of the Dutch master, dated 1642, suffered three attacks: in 1915, by an unemployed shoemaker who scratched it, fortunately causing only minor damage; then in 1975, a man violently slashed the canvas with a knife, and in 1990, a boy threw sulfuric acid on it.
The Night Watch, displayed at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, is now protected by a glass case that is shatterproof and even bulletproof.
What can we say? Let’s hope for the best.
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