‘Mona Lisa’ Attacked With Cake By Climate Change Protester

Topline

The “Mona Lisa,” a 16th-century portrait by Leonardo da Vinci–and arguably the most famous painting on Earth–was the target of a pastry attack Sunday in a stunt by a climate change protester who was dressed as an elderly woman.

Visitors take pictures in front of Mona Lisa after it was returned at its place at the Louvre Museum … [+] in Paris on October 7, 2019.

AFP via Getty Images Key Facts

Witnesses at the Louvre museum in Paris on Sunday posted on social media that they saw a man disguised as an elderly woman spring out of a wheelchair and attempt to break the bulletproof glass that protects the Mona Lisa before smearing cake on it.

The attacker was quickly “tackled” by security, one eyewitness said, and as he was dragged away from the gallery was filmed saying in French, “Think of the planet… there are people who are destroying the planet, think about that … That’s why I did it,” according to a translation from The Art Newspaper.

The pastry did not damage the painting, the Louvre told Forbes in a statement.

A 36-year-old man was arrested Saturday in connection with the incident and placed under psychiatric hold as the Paris prosecutor’s office opens an investigation into an attempt to vandalize a cultural work, according to The Guardian.

Key Background

The “Mona Lisa” is believed to be a portrait of a French noblewoman. Once part of King Francis I of France’s art collection, it was among the first paintings to be put on display at the Louvre–the largest and most-visited museum in the world–after the former palace became a national museum after the French Revolution. The “Mona Lisa,” has the highest-known insurance valuation for a painting, according to Guinness World Records. The painting was insured for $100 million in 1962–or $172 million today–in preparation for the painting to be loaned out to the U.S. for a special exhibition. That figure would almost certainly be much higher today, considering the boom in the art market. In 2020, a fan of the painting bid nearly $100,000 at auction for the opportunity to be present when the “Mona Lisa” was taken down from display and examined by conservation experts during her annual check-up. Last week, the former director of the Louvre was charged in connection with the trafficking of antiquities from the Middle East.

Surprising Fact

Despite being the most recognizable works of art today, the “Mona Lisa” was not widely known until after the painting was stolen in a high-profile robbery of the Louvre in 1911. Newspapers worldwide reported on the theft, and when the painting was recovered in Florence two years later, it was returned to the Louvre where it became one of the most popular paintings. Since then, the “Mona Lisa” has been the target of multiple attacks. In 1956, a man threw a rock at the painting and damaged the subject’s left elbow, prompting museum officials to install a cover of bulletproof glass. In 2009, a woman hurled a teacup at the painting.

Further Reading

Former Louvre Director Charged In Antique Trafficking Case (Forbes)

The Louvre To Auction Off Spot To See Leonardo’s ‘Mona Lisa’ Up Close (Forbes)

Bidder Drops Nearly $100,000 To See Leonardo’s ‘Mona Lisa’ Up Close (Forbes)