How Mona Lisa became famous
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Chung, François [u/fchung]. “The theft that made the 'Mona Lisa' a masterpiece: « Before its theft, the "Mona Lisa" was not widely known outside the art world. ».” Reddit, 4 September 2019, www.reddit.com/r/history/comments/czmysx/the_theft_that_made_the_mona_lisa_a_masterpiece.
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Related news & Summary
NPR Staff. “The Theft That Made The 'Mona Lisa' A Masterpiece.” NPR, 30 July 2011, www.npr.org/2011/07/30/138800110/the-theft-that-made-the-mona-lisa-a-masterpiece.
On the morning of August 21, 1911, in front of the Louvre in Paris, three men rush out of the museum. While the Louvre was still closed, they first slipped out of a cupboard and lifted up paintings, frames and protective cases. They had just stolen the Mona Lisa. Prior to its theft, the Mona Lisa was not widely known outside of the art world. Leonardo da Vinci painted it in 1507, but it wasn't until the 1860s that critics began hailing it as a masterpiece of Renaissance painting.
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