1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:01,920 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:12,680 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hello and welcome to This Day in History Class, 3 00:00:12,680 --> 00:00:15,760 Speaker 1: a show that uncovers a little bit more about history 4 00:00:16,239 --> 00:00:20,800 Speaker 1: every day. I'm Gabeluzier, and today we're looking at how 5 00:00:20,840 --> 00:00:24,599 Speaker 1: an amateur art thief turned a painting with a mysterious 6 00:00:24,680 --> 00:00:27,680 Speaker 1: smile into one of the most iconic works of art 7 00:00:27,840 --> 00:00:43,479 Speaker 1: on the planet. The day was December twelfth. Leonardo da 8 00:00:43,560 --> 00:00:47,560 Speaker 1: Vinci's Mona Lisa portrait was recovered from a hotel room 9 00:00:47,600 --> 00:00:51,560 Speaker 1: in Florence, two years after being stolen from the Louver 10 00:00:51,880 --> 00:00:56,840 Speaker 1: in Paris. The man behind the brazen robbery was Italian 11 00:00:56,880 --> 00:01:02,800 Speaker 1: immigrant Vincenzo Perugia. He wasn't an expert cat burglar or 12 00:01:02,840 --> 00:01:07,759 Speaker 1: even an art connoisseur. He was a handyman, and most crucially, 13 00:01:08,040 --> 00:01:11,600 Speaker 1: he had once done a job for the louver. In fact, 14 00:01:12,080 --> 00:01:16,319 Speaker 1: one year before he stole the Mona Lisa, Perugia was 15 00:01:16,400 --> 00:01:20,160 Speaker 1: the one who installed the glass door in protective case 16 00:01:20,440 --> 00:01:24,600 Speaker 1: that housed that very painting. This meant he knew how 17 00:01:24,680 --> 00:01:28,120 Speaker 1: the Mona Lisa was fixed to its frame, as well 18 00:01:28,160 --> 00:01:32,880 Speaker 1: as how to unfix it. You might imagine that Perugia 19 00:01:33,000 --> 00:01:37,119 Speaker 1: targeted the Mona Lisa over the other paintings he helped install. 20 00:01:37,600 --> 00:01:41,760 Speaker 1: Because of the portraits world renown. However, at the time 21 00:01:42,080 --> 00:01:46,560 Speaker 1: the Mona Lisa wasn't famous outside the art world. In fact, 22 00:01:46,800 --> 00:01:49,680 Speaker 1: the theft of the painting is how it became so 23 00:01:49,800 --> 00:01:53,840 Speaker 1: widely known. Before it was stolen, most people couldn't have 24 00:01:53,880 --> 00:01:57,040 Speaker 1: told you the name of the portrait, although to be fair, 25 00:01:57,360 --> 00:02:01,840 Speaker 1: it is called by different names. Da Vinci started work 26 00:02:01,880 --> 00:02:04,760 Speaker 1: on the painting in the early fifteen hundreds as a 27 00:02:04,760 --> 00:02:10,600 Speaker 1: commission piece for a wealthy Florentine merchant named Francesco del Joconda. 28 00:02:11,360 --> 00:02:14,760 Speaker 1: His surname provides the lesser known title of the painting, 29 00:02:15,120 --> 00:02:20,760 Speaker 1: which is La Joconda, or as the French say, La Joconda. 30 00:02:21,680 --> 00:02:25,040 Speaker 1: The subject of the painting and its other namesake is 31 00:02:25,080 --> 00:02:30,120 Speaker 1: believed to be Francesco's wife, Lisa. The name Mona Lisa 32 00:02:30,520 --> 00:02:35,120 Speaker 1: roughly translates to my Lady Lisa, and contrary to what 33 00:02:35,240 --> 00:02:38,320 Speaker 1: you may have heard about Da Vinci following in love 34 00:02:38,400 --> 00:02:42,040 Speaker 1: with his subject, the title is likely intended from her 35 00:02:42,160 --> 00:02:47,880 Speaker 1: husband's perspective. Unfortunately, the Renaissance painter never got around to 36 00:02:48,000 --> 00:02:53,119 Speaker 1: finishing and delivering Lisa's portrait when he died in fifteen nineteen. 37 00:02:53,520 --> 00:02:56,600 Speaker 1: It was one of many unfinished works he left behind 38 00:02:57,639 --> 00:03:00,919 Speaker 1: in the nineteenth century. Art critic came to view the 39 00:03:00,960 --> 00:03:04,160 Speaker 1: portrait as a master work, but it wouldn't become a 40 00:03:04,200 --> 00:03:09,799 Speaker 1: household name until decades later, when Perugia stole it. The 41 00:03:09,840 --> 00:03:12,560 Speaker 1: thief came to know the painting while on the job 42 00:03:12,639 --> 00:03:16,040 Speaker 1: in nineteen ten, but he selected it as a target 43 00:03:16,080 --> 00:03:19,120 Speaker 1: a year later, mostly because it was small enough to 44 00:03:19,200 --> 00:03:23,360 Speaker 1: hide in his clothes. The oil on wood painting is 45 00:03:23,400 --> 00:03:26,919 Speaker 1: smaller than you might think, measuring just thirty by twenty 46 00:03:26,960 --> 00:03:31,440 Speaker 1: one inches and weighing about eighteen pounds. Of course, it 47 00:03:31,520 --> 00:03:34,600 Speaker 1: weighed over two hundred pounds when you factor in the 48 00:03:34,680 --> 00:03:39,280 Speaker 1: frame and protective case, but again, Perugia knew exactly how 49 00:03:39,320 --> 00:03:42,920 Speaker 1: to drop that extra weight. He stole the painting on 50 00:03:43,000 --> 00:03:47,880 Speaker 1: August one, nineteen eleven. That was a Monday, which met 51 00:03:47,920 --> 00:03:52,240 Speaker 1: the museum was closed for cleaning. Accounts very on how 52 00:03:52,320 --> 00:03:56,640 Speaker 1: Perugia got inside the building. Some say he strolled right 53 00:03:56,680 --> 00:03:59,640 Speaker 1: in through an unlocked door, while others say he hid 54 00:03:59,720 --> 00:04:02,560 Speaker 1: over night in a closet and emerged when the coast 55 00:04:02,640 --> 00:04:07,280 Speaker 1: was clear. In either case, Perugia dressed like he belonged there. 56 00:04:08,000 --> 00:04:10,840 Speaker 1: Since he had worked for the Louver before, he already 57 00:04:10,840 --> 00:04:14,680 Speaker 1: had the white outfit worn by its workers. He simply 58 00:04:14,800 --> 00:04:18,200 Speaker 1: walked over to the Mona Lisa, removed the panel painting 59 00:04:18,279 --> 00:04:21,520 Speaker 1: from its frame and case, and slipped it under his smock. 60 00:04:22,279 --> 00:04:24,919 Speaker 1: He left the case where it was and ditched the 61 00:04:24,960 --> 00:04:28,760 Speaker 1: frame on a staircase. On his way out of the museum, 62 00:04:28,800 --> 00:04:31,359 Speaker 1: the thief hit a small snag when he discovered the 63 00:04:31,400 --> 00:04:34,160 Speaker 1: door was locked, but in a stroke of good luck, 64 00:04:34,400 --> 00:04:38,080 Speaker 1: a friendly plumber noticed him struggling and opened the door 65 00:04:38,240 --> 00:04:42,800 Speaker 1: with his own key. If that all sounds remarkably easy, 66 00:04:42,839 --> 00:04:46,880 Speaker 1: that's because it was. At the time, most museums were 67 00:04:46,920 --> 00:04:50,880 Speaker 1: poorly guarded and didn't even have alarms. The Louver was 68 00:04:50,960 --> 00:04:55,359 Speaker 1: no exception. It had four hundred rooms full of priceless artwork, 69 00:04:55,640 --> 00:04:58,840 Speaker 1: but only two hundred guards to watch it all, with 70 00:04:58,920 --> 00:05:02,480 Speaker 1: even fewer on the night shift. One result of this 71 00:05:02,680 --> 00:05:06,440 Speaker 1: lax security was that Perugia didn't have to do much 72 00:05:06,520 --> 00:05:10,560 Speaker 1: planning for his heist. Another result was that no one 73 00:05:10,640 --> 00:05:13,720 Speaker 1: noticed the Mona Lisa was even missing until a full 74 00:05:13,800 --> 00:05:17,479 Speaker 1: day later, Although to be fair, it wasn't unusual for 75 00:05:17,560 --> 00:05:20,320 Speaker 1: works of art to be removed from time to time. 76 00:05:20,560 --> 00:05:23,960 Speaker 1: Either to be photographed or cleaned, so most of the 77 00:05:24,000 --> 00:05:27,520 Speaker 1: staff probably saw the empty space and thought nothing of it. 78 00:05:28,360 --> 00:05:33,000 Speaker 1: Once the news broke, it quickly snowballed into a national scandal. 79 00:05:33,680 --> 00:05:37,400 Speaker 1: The French public was outraged and dozens of detectives were 80 00:05:37,520 --> 00:05:41,080 Speaker 1: tasked with tracking down the stolen art. Images of the 81 00:05:41,120 --> 00:05:46,040 Speaker 1: Mona Lisa began appearing in newspapers around the world, transforming 82 00:05:46,080 --> 00:05:50,000 Speaker 1: a relatively obscure painting into one of the most recognizable. 83 00:05:50,680 --> 00:05:54,080 Speaker 1: Even the absence of the painting started to draw a crowd, 84 00:05:54,440 --> 00:05:57,479 Speaker 1: with visitors flocking to the louver just to see the 85 00:05:57,520 --> 00:06:01,679 Speaker 1: empty space where the painting used to have. The police 86 00:06:01,760 --> 00:06:04,960 Speaker 1: hunt for the unknown art thief dragged on for the 87 00:06:05,000 --> 00:06:09,359 Speaker 1: next two years. During that time, the police chased every 88 00:06:09,440 --> 00:06:13,880 Speaker 1: lead they could, even questioning a young Pablo Picasso because 89 00:06:13,880 --> 00:06:17,880 Speaker 1: he had been caught buying stolen art pieces before. That 90 00:06:17,960 --> 00:06:20,640 Speaker 1: proved to be a dead end, as did all their 91 00:06:20,680 --> 00:06:25,320 Speaker 1: other leads. Detectives came the closest when they interviewed Perugia 92 00:06:25,640 --> 00:06:31,040 Speaker 1: about the crime, not once but twice. However, they ultimately 93 00:06:31,080 --> 00:06:34,320 Speaker 1: cleared him after determining that he couldn't possibly have pulled 94 00:06:34,320 --> 00:06:38,400 Speaker 1: off such a high profile crime in the end, it 95 00:06:38,440 --> 00:06:42,479 Speaker 1: was Perugia's own poor judgment that got him caught. He 96 00:06:42,600 --> 00:06:45,159 Speaker 1: kept the paintings stashed in a trunk in his small 97 00:06:45,200 --> 00:06:48,920 Speaker 1: Paris apartment for the better part of two years. By 98 00:06:49,000 --> 00:06:52,640 Speaker 1: late nineteen thirteen, though, he decided he had waited long 99 00:06:52,760 --> 00:06:56,359 Speaker 1: enough and contacted an art dealer and gallery owner in 100 00:06:56,440 --> 00:07:00,880 Speaker 1: Florence to arrange for the painting sale. A meeting was 101 00:07:00,960 --> 00:07:05,320 Speaker 1: set up, but unbeknownst to Perugia, the dealer had taken 102 00:07:05,360 --> 00:07:09,400 Speaker 1: his letters straight to the police. On December tenth, he 103 00:07:09,560 --> 00:07:12,600 Speaker 1: arrived at a hotel in Florence to hand over the painting, 104 00:07:12,880 --> 00:07:18,880 Speaker 1: but was swiftly arrested instead. After his capture, Perugia claimed 105 00:07:18,920 --> 00:07:21,720 Speaker 1: he was only trying to return the Mona Lisa to 106 00:07:21,880 --> 00:07:25,800 Speaker 1: its native home of Italy. Apparently he was under the 107 00:07:25,920 --> 00:07:29,920 Speaker 1: false impression that Napoleon had stolen the artwork for France 108 00:07:30,160 --> 00:07:34,520 Speaker 1: in the late eighteenth century. It's true that Napoleon's armies 109 00:07:34,600 --> 00:07:38,800 Speaker 1: had plundered cultural artifacts from many of the countries they invaded, 110 00:07:39,200 --> 00:07:42,200 Speaker 1: but that wasn't the case with the Mona Lisa. It 111 00:07:42,280 --> 00:07:46,480 Speaker 1: had actually been brought to France by Leonardo da Vinci himself, 112 00:07:47,000 --> 00:07:50,440 Speaker 1: and following the artist's death, it was purchased fair and 113 00:07:50,520 --> 00:07:56,040 Speaker 1: square by King Francis, the first in the sixteenth century. Besides, 114 00:07:56,400 --> 00:08:00,520 Speaker 1: even if Perugia believed his own story, his sub posedly 115 00:08:00,640 --> 00:08:05,240 Speaker 1: patriotic motivation was clearly a farce. In addition to the 116 00:08:05,400 --> 00:08:10,040 Speaker 1: art dealer he had already contacted in Florence, Perugia also 117 00:08:10,240 --> 00:08:13,720 Speaker 1: had a list of American art collectors, showing that he 118 00:08:13,840 --> 00:08:17,720 Speaker 1: definitely intended to sell the painting and didn't especially care 119 00:08:17,880 --> 00:08:21,480 Speaker 1: which country it wound up in. It's worth noting that 120 00:08:21,640 --> 00:08:25,800 Speaker 1: rumors have circulated claiming that Perugia was working for a 121 00:08:25,880 --> 00:08:29,679 Speaker 1: German art forger who planned to exploit the Mona Lisa's 122 00:08:29,760 --> 00:08:34,320 Speaker 1: disappearance by selling fake copies on the black market. That 123 00:08:34,520 --> 00:08:38,600 Speaker 1: story was never substantiated, and Perugia was the only one 124 00:08:38,640 --> 00:08:42,280 Speaker 1: ever arrested for the crime. He was sentenced to one 125 00:08:42,400 --> 00:08:46,439 Speaker 1: year and fifteen days in jail, but even that relatively 126 00:08:46,600 --> 00:08:50,000 Speaker 1: light sentence was later reduced to a mere seven months 127 00:08:50,120 --> 00:08:53,720 Speaker 1: and nine days. It probably helped that no one was 128 00:08:53,760 --> 00:08:56,760 Speaker 1: injured in his crime and that the painting was able 129 00:08:56,800 --> 00:09:01,720 Speaker 1: to be recovered unharmed. The Mona Lisa was eventually returned 130 00:09:01,720 --> 00:09:05,840 Speaker 1: to the Louver. It still hangs there today, nestled safely 131 00:09:05,960 --> 00:09:11,400 Speaker 1: behind bulletproof glass, under the watchful eye of multiple security guards, cameras, 132 00:09:11,440 --> 00:09:16,320 Speaker 1: and alarms. It's estimated that more than six million people 133 00:09:16,679 --> 00:09:20,440 Speaker 1: view the painting each year, though on average they spend 134 00:09:20,480 --> 00:09:24,720 Speaker 1: only about fifteen seconds actually looking at it. That makes 135 00:09:24,720 --> 00:09:27,360 Speaker 1: it seem like most people are just ticking off an 136 00:09:27,400 --> 00:09:31,360 Speaker 1: item on their bucket list rather than genuinely appreciating what's 137 00:09:31,360 --> 00:09:34,920 Speaker 1: on display. But hey, it's still better than the two 138 00:09:35,000 --> 00:09:39,240 Speaker 1: years the painting spent locked inside of some random guys trump. 139 00:09:41,400 --> 00:09:44,960 Speaker 1: I'm Gabe Lousier and hopefully you now know a little 140 00:09:45,000 --> 00:09:49,120 Speaker 1: more about history today than you did yesterday. You can 141 00:09:49,200 --> 00:09:52,920 Speaker 1: learn even more about history by following us on Twitter, Facebook, 142 00:09:52,960 --> 00:09:57,040 Speaker 1: and Instagram at t d i HC Show, and if 143 00:09:57,040 --> 00:10:00,000 Speaker 1: you have any comments or suggestions, you can send them 144 00:10:00,040 --> 00:10:05,080 Speaker 1: highway at this Day at I heart media dot com. 145 00:10:05,080 --> 00:10:08,319 Speaker 1: Thanks to Chandler Mays for producing the show, and thanks 146 00:10:08,320 --> 00:10:11,080 Speaker 1: to you for listening. I'll see you back here again 147 00:10:11,120 --> 00:10:22,559 Speaker 1: tomorrow for another day in History class. For more podcasts 148 00:10:22,559 --> 00:10:24,560 Speaker 1: from my Heart Radio, visit the I Heart Radio app, 149 00:10:24,600 --> 00:10:27,240 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.