illustrated masterpiece Leonardo da Vinci Painting showing a portrait of Lisa Gherardini, wife of Francesco del Giocondo lived the past A new attack took place in the most crowded room of the Louvre Museum in Paris on Sunday, in front of the astonished looks of those who visited him. On this occasion the attack came from two French environmental activists from the group Riposte Alimentaire. They threw soup on the display case protecting the 16th century painting To protest the “sick agricultural system”. An attack that brings together others carried out over more than a century, none of which have managed to blur the most enigmatic smile in the history of art.
Mona LisaAlso known as the Mona Lisa, it is arguably the most famous painting of all time and the magnificent jewel that the Paris Louvre proudly displays in front of millions of visitors every year. The work, made by the brilliant Leonardo da Vinci between 1503 and 1519 and measuring 79 x 53 centimeters, was purchased by King Francis I of France and has belonged to the French State since then. The universal admiration for this painting also exists in its history as a response to repeated attempts to damage it, or at least use the echo of ostentatious actions against the glass that houses it, in order to attract attention and give visibility to different claims. nature.
1. Robbery (1911)
Yesterday was the most recent, but the history of events and attacks begins at the beginning of the last century. Especially on August 21, 1911, when the painter Louis Béroud saw that there was an inscription on the wall of the Carrée room of the Louvre that morning, he immediately turned pale. unexpected gap. was missing Mona Lisa. He notified the police and the museum was closed immediately to facilitate the investigation of the disappearance. When the decision was made to reopen the Louvre, a mixture of curiosity and sickness drew thousands of citizens to the room that showed this astonishing emptiness. It took just over two years and three months to recover the painting. The author of this notorious and unauthorized “moving” was the carpenter Vincenzo Peruggia, a former museum employee, who took it out of the Louvre under the white blouse worn by Paris art gallery curators.
2.Stone (1956)
On December 30, 1956, Bolivian Ugo Únzaga Villegas, whom some sources describe as the nephew of Óscar Únzaga, the founder of the Bolivian Socialist Falange, suddenly decided to paint while in front of Leonardo’s painting. throw stones at him. Although the work was protected by glass at that time, the impact passed through the glass and damaged the painting at the level of the artist’s left elbow. Mona Lisa. Únzaga was arrested and sent back to Bolivia. While the attacker admitted that he did it because he “heard voices”, his family claimed that the man suffered from mental instability. After verifying the sensitivity of the measures used up to that time, those responsible for the Louvre They have since decided to place the painting behind a bulletproof display case..
3. Wrong attack? acidic (1956)
There are many sources detailing that in the same year of 1956, before the Únzaga attack, there was another attack in which a person threw acid. Mona Lisa. However, regarding this, the National Geographic publication explains that this attack is “just an attack”. a legend In the Louvre Museum, there is no record of the following facts: ‘There was no acid attack on the panel that would damage the painting.’” “This story is false”Curators of the museum’s Painting Department told the magazine.
4. Red paint in Tokyo (1974)
In 1973, Japanese Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka managed to get a historic concession from French President George Pompidou because it was extraordinary: Leonardo’s famous painting It would go to Japan’s capital to be exhibited in April of the following year.. On April 16, 1974, the painting “boarded” Air France Flight 1626. Framed in a Boeing 707 and supposedly Operation Jules, Mona Lisa He arrived in Tokyo, where he was received with state honours. Expectations were at their maximum in Japan’s capital. Thousands of posters adorned the streets and this visit was considered historic. It was exhibited at the city’s National Museum on April 19 and visited by diplomats and some officials. A day later his visit was expanded to include the general public, and things couldn’t have started worse. On the same day, a young woman threw red paint while trying to reach the Mona Lisa, which was protected by glass, without damaging it. She was protesting the discrimination faced by disabled women. In fact, Japanese authorities had banned entry to the museum to anyone who needed assistance accessing the facilities. Rallies were held at the door to protest this measure, and the disabled Tomoko Yonezu decided to go one step further and participate in direct action against Leonardo’s work. Yonezu was quickly arrestedHe was convicted of a minor crime and fined, but through his protest he managed to get the museum to allow disabled people to visit the masterpiece of the illustrated Renaissance. For three weeks in total Mona Lisa continued to be exhibited in Tokyo 1.5 million people viewed it closely.
5th Cup exit (2009)
35 uneventful years passed for the hero of the portrait of the Florentine genius until August 2, 2009. Russian citizen threw a ceramic cup on the painting. The woman was arrested and subjected to psychiatric evaluation, but this time the attacker, unlike his predecessor, Bolivian Ugo Únzaga, was not hearing voices, but was “just” protesting as he had been denied French citizenship on multiple occasions. The protective glass did its job and the room didn’t even close. Visits continued as normal that day. It took the media 10 days to cover the attack.
6. Cake Leaker (2022)
On May 29, 2022, a 36-year-old man in a wheelchair and a wig carried out a new attack, taking advantage of the fact that he was in the front rows in front of the painting, in the area reserved for those with mobility difficulties. the Mona Lisa hit the armored glass firstHe then ended this action by throwing a cake on himself and distributing roses everywhere. Dozens of visitors recorded the scene with their mobile phones, and the action quickly went viral. The man, who was taken out of the room by the museum’s security guards, addressed those who recorded the scene with their phones and said the following in French: “Think of the world. There are people who are destroying the world. That’s why I did it. “Think about the planet”. The attacker was considered and transferred to the police prefecture’s psychiatric hospital.
7. “Sopapo” initiative (2024)
The last of the attacks on the famous painting took place yesterday. Mona LisaWhen two activists from the “Food Response” collective threw soup into the protective jar to protest the “sick agricultural system”. “Which is more important? Art or the right to a healthy and long-term diet?” Our agricultural system is sick“, shouted one of the activists. Louvre employees tried to hide the scene by placing curtains in a room that visitors admired. French Minister of Culture Rachida Dati said on the social network: “Mona Lisa, like our Heritage, belongs to future generations. No reason can justify persecuting him! “I offer all my support to the staff of the Louvre.”