In what year did a woman throw a ceramic teacup at the Mona Lisa? The answer is 2009.
On 2 August 2009, a Russian visitor threw a ceramic cup at Leonardo da Vinci’s painting in the Louvre. Reports said she had been frustrated after being denied French citizenship. The cup shattered against the protective glass enclosure, so the Mona Lisa itself was not damaged.
The incident was widely reported because it joined a long history of attacks and attempted attacks on the famous portrait. Earlier assaults included an acid attack in 1956 and a stone-throwing incident later that same year. The painting is now protected by specialized security glazing and environmental controls.
A common mix-up is confusing this event with the 2022 cake attack, when a man disguised in a wheelchair smeared cake on the Mona Lisa’s glass. The 2009 incident involved a ceramic teacup and happened at the Louvre in Paris.