A man dressed as an old woman reportedly smeared cake on the glass protecting Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece, the Mona Lisa, at the Louvre on Sunday.
According to reports, a man donned a wig and posed as an elderly woman in a wheelchair before entering the Louvre art museum in Paris, France. Once he neared the priceless work of art, he reportedly threw cake at the painting and attempted to smash the bulletproof glass that protects it from just such an attack.
The protective glass of the Mona Lisa painting at The Louvre was caked today by a man dressed up as an elderly woman in a wheelchair. pic.twitter.com/g8uaQZ1wPp
— Pop Base (@PopBase) May 29, 2022
Video of the incident was posted on Twitter, long with the comment, “Maybe this is just nuts to me but an [sic] man dressed as an old lady jumps out of a wheel chair and attempted to smash the bullet proof glass of the Mona Lisa. Then proceeds to smear cake on the glass, and throws roses everywhere before being tackled by security.”
Maybe this is just nuts to me💀but an man dressed as an old lady jumps out of a wheel chair and attempted to smash the bullet proof glass of the Mona Lisa. Then proceeds to smear cake on the glass, and throws roses everywhere all before being tackled by security. 😂??? pic.twitter.com/OFXdx9eWcM
— Lukeee🧃 (@lukeXC2002) May 29, 2022
Another video added the comment, “Here is the moment when they take away the person who threw a cake at Mona Lisa.”
Aquí el momento en que se llevan a quien le aventó un pastel a la Monalisa.pic.twitter.com/HBayMOdcKV
— Alejandro Alemán (@elsalonrojo) May 29, 2022
The alleged perpetrator reportedly smeared cake on the glass in an effort to raise awareness about the destruction of planet earth, witnesses claimed.
“A guy has thrown a cake at the Mona Lisa to raise awareness about the destruction of the planet,” one person explained in a tweet.
The painting was stolen in 1911 by an Italian handyman named Vincenzo Peruggia. He was not caught until two years later — and some experts believe that the theft was what truly put the famously enigmatic smile on the map.
“If a different one of Leonardo’s works had been stolen, then that would have been the most famous work in the world – not the Mona Lisa,” said Noah Charney, art history professor and author.
“There was nothing that really distinguished it per se, other than it was a very good work by a very famous artist – that’s until it was stolen. The theft is what really skyrocketed its appeal and made it a household name,” he said.
The painting has been the target of attempted vandalism in the past as well, according to a report from Marca.com.
“A man threw sulfuric acid at it in the 1950s, which had an effect on the painting, and a Bolivian student hit it with a stone. A woman in a wheelchair sprayed red paint on her wheelchair while she was at an exhibition in Tokyo in 1974, expressing her dissatisfaction with the lack of access ramps,” the outlet reported.
Additionally, in 2009, a Russian tourist threw tea at the painting.
