Her legendary smile has not been lost, thanks to her protective glasses: “La Joconde”, one of the most well-known paintings in the world, was encrusted at the Louvre Museum in Paris on Sunday, May 29, without any consequences, as she is protected behind armored glass.
A 36-year old man was taken to the Prefecture of Police psychiatric Infirmary on Sunday. An investigation was opened into the “attempt of damaging cultural property” we were informed Monday by the Paris prosecutor.
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Solicited Sunday night by AFP, Monday’s reply from the Louvre Museum was that it didn’t wish to comment.
According to photographs and testimony posted by tourists on Instagram or Twitter on Sunday, the incident occurred in the early afternoon.
According to a Twitter user, he was there during the incident. He claims that the perpetrator was disguised and wearing a wig. He then got out of a wheelchair to smash the bulletproof glass before spreading cake on her.
Another Twitter user @lukeXC2002 posted a video where the man in question can be seen standing next to his wheelchair, and being led out by security.
“There are people who are destroying Earth […] All artists think about the Earth. This is why I did it. “Think about the planet,” he says in French. He is wearing a white wig, cap, and cap to his head.
The wheelchair can also be seen behind the security fence. Visitors should not pass it. The incident was not captured on video or photos.
It is not the first instance of vandalism affecting Leonardo da Vinci’s famous painting.
A Russian visitor to Louvre was detained in August 2009 after throwing a teacup at “the Mona Lisa” The museum explained that the cup had fallen against an armored display box, which had been lightly scratched.
Since 2005, the Mona Lisa has been presented behind armored glasses, protected by a special container where temperature and humidity are controlled. This makes it the most visited museum in the world, with ten million visitors each year before Covid-19.
