Page 6 - mona lisat

For more than a day, the Louvre’s staff had no clue

that the Mona Lisa had been stolen.

The museum’s paintings were often removed from

the walls for cleaning or photography, so passersby

took little notice of the blank space where the

portrait was usually located.

Finally, at around noon on Tuesday, a visiting artist

asked a security guard to track the painting down.
When the guard couldn’t locate it, the museum

called the police and began a frantic search. It was

only then that the Mona Lisa’s glass frame was
discovered in the service stairwell.

That same evening, a museum official announced
the theft to the world. “The Mona Lisa is gone,” he

said. “Thus far we haven’t a clue as to who might

have committed this crime.”