Jodie Foster to Make Movie on the Mona Lisa Theft

In 1911, Vincenzo Peruggia walked into the Louvre in Paris wearing the white worker’s smock he had donned in the past. Instead of beginning his days work, though, he snuck into a neglected broom closet. He waited until the museum closed, and then made his way to the Mona Lisa.

Removing the painting from the wall, Peruggia wrapped it in his coat, tucked it under his arm, and walked out of the same service door he entered through. Taking the subway home, Peruggia brought the Mona Lisa back to his apartment. Because the museum was closed the next day, Peruggia had more than a full day before authorities realized it was missing.

Many were accused of the theft, including Pablo Picasso and the poet Guillaume Apollinaire, who was imprisoned for the crime. Peruggia was questioned but provided a convincing alibi.

After two years of sitting on his prize, Peruggia sought to return the work to his native Italy, where he believed she belonged. Ignoring the fact that Leonardo da Vinci himself brought the masterpiece to France, where he spent his last years, Peruggia felt that the French had stolen the work from the Italian people, her rightful owner. From an apartment in Florence, Peruggia attempted to sell the Mona Lisa to the Uffizi Gallery. Director Giovanni Poggi authenticated the work and contacted the authorities.

The media sensation surrounding the theft and return of the Mona Lisa made the painting more famous and important than ever. Though some regarded her as the Renaissance masterpiece we know her to be now, the Mona Lisa was not so ubiquitous in 1913, when she was turned over to the police.

The Mona Lisa toured Italy for two weeks before her return to the Louvre, where she was greeted with much fanfare. Since then her value, both culturally and monetarily, has only increased.

All the drama of the story lends itself easily to film, where, in the hands of director Jodie Foster and with a big studio budget, it will surely make for an exciting thriller. There is no shortage of fascinating characters to populate the film, starting with Peruggia as the passionate protagonist whose patriotism inspired the theft. Other charismatic characters include Picasso and the art forger Yves Chaudron, who found an eager market for his copies of the Mona Lisa while she was missing.

A production timeline has yet to be announced for the film, but in the meantime, you can check out Mona Lisa Is Missing, a 2012 full-length documentary about the theft, as well as the 2006 miniseries The Man Who Stole La Gioconda.