Who stole the Mona Lisa in 1911?

Vincenzo Peruggia stole the Mona Lisa in 1911.

Peruggia was an Italian employee of the Louvre who had helped with protective cases for artworks. On 21 August 1911, he entered the museum wearing the white work smock commonly used by staff, removed the painting from the wall, and carried it away after hiding it during the museum's weekly closure.

The theft triggered an enormous investigation and newspaper sensation. Police initially questioned prominent figures including the poet Guillaume Apollinaire and the artist Pablo Picasso, but both were eventually cleared. Peruggia kept the painting concealed in his Florence apartment for roughly two years.

He was caught in December 1913 after contacting art dealer Alfredo Geri, apparently hoping to sell or return the painting to Italy. Eduardo de Valfierno is sometimes named as the mastermind, but that story rests on a later, disputed newspaper account. The actual thief identified in the case was Peruggia.