I'd never heard of this early 1900's theft of Mona Lisa from the Louvre, so looked forward to the details of the investigation and some of the facts around the heist. I was doomed to disappointment, surprised that the story was so highly speculative, providing next to no factual basis for the author's conjecture about the theft.
I never did grasp the point of Scotti's story because it read like a poorly-plotted novel with gushy comments about the allure of the lady in the painting, irrelevant side stories involving other artists, unverified con men (Valiferno) and irrelevant general French history. These distracting insertions into the brief factual aspects of the theft digressed from the theme and hardly contributes to what could have been an interesting piece of art-theft history. ( )

In the summer of 1911, the Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre and the mystery went unsolved for two years before (one of) the culprit(s) confessed. To some, it was considered the greatest art heist of all time, and others are convinced that we still don't know all the facts of the crime nor all the players. This book chronicles the history of the event, along with background information on the painting itself, its painter, and the possible people in on the crime.

I love micro histories, and this one didn't disappoint. I'm not much up on art history, so I didn't even know the heist had happened, let alone that Picasso was hip deep in the controversy. A very cool incident very nicely explained. ( )

enjoyable history that I previously knew nothing about. Snappily written, a short pleasure to read. In the end though while an enjoyable story it seemingly is all just conjecture...so what's the point ( )

A extraordinária história do maior roubo de arte de sempre.

No final da tarde de domingo, 20 de Agosto de 1911, três homens entraram no Louvre. Disfarçando-se de funcionários do museu, esconderam-se até ao cair da noite. Dezasseis horas depois, o quadro mais famoso do mundo, a Mona Lisa, tinha desaparecido. Passaram vinte e quatro horas até alguém reparar. Quando por fim o alarme soou, a Polícia acorreu ao local. As portas foram trancadas, funcionários e visitantes detidos, mas o quadro desaparecera há muito. A França encerrou as suas fronteiras. E quando o museu reabriu uma semana depois do roubo, os parisienses fizeram fila em números nunca vistos para admirar o espaço em branco onde o famoso quadro estivera anteriormente pendurado. A caça ao homem estendeu-se de Paris a Nova Iorque, da Argentina a Itália, mas a Mona Lisa nunca foi encontrada.

Picasso e Apollinaire foram presos sob suspeita do roubo, mas posteriormente libertados por falta de provas. O Louvre, o Governo francês e o jornal Le Figaro ofereceram recompensas pelo regresso em segurança da Mona Lisa, mas o rasto estava frio… Até que, dois anos depois, o negociante de arte florentino Alfredo Geri recebeu uma carta assinada por «Leonardo». A Mona Lisa estava à venda. Neste livro R. A. Scotti desvenda a verdade sobre o «crime do século».

«Lê-se como um romance policial… uma corrida acelerada contra o tempo para descobrir a Mona Lisa e resolver o maior mistério do mundo da arte.»
Manchester Evening News ( )

A neat, informative, and interesting narrative history of the Mona Lisa by Leonardo and its 1911 theft from the Louvre. It is part art history, part biography of Leonardo, part true crime book. A diverting and knowledgable read. Sparse notes, bibliography, no index. Illustrated, though color plates of the painting and the various other ones mentioned might have been nice, but you can find the Mona Lisa and others online, of course. I only wish Scotti had mentioned the Monna Vannas. Still, a good read. ( )