A history of heists at the Louvre: From the Mona Lisa to Napoleon's jewels
The Sunday theft from the Louvre Museum of eight priceless pieces of jewelry belonging to Emperor Napoleon and his wife has ignited a national outcry and nationwide manhunt.
French President Emmanuel Macron called the crime "an attack on a heritage that we cherish because it is our history," and vowed that "the perpetrators will be brought to justice."
But it's not the first time that thieves have made off with art from the famed Parisian museum -- and not all of those stolen works have been recovered.
1911: Theft of the "Mona Lisa"
One of the most famous art heists in history was the 1911 theft of the "Mona Lisa." The 16th-century Leonardo da Vinci masterpiece was stolen by Vincenzo Peruggia, an Italian immigrant who'd worked at the Louvre as a handyman and who smuggled the painting out of the building after hours by removing it from its frame and hiding it beneath his work coat.
A massive manhunt ensued for the painting, during which even a young Pablo Picasso was questioned. Yet two years passed before the painting was discovered, and only then because Peruggia – who had kept the painting hidden in his Paris apartment all of that time, waiting for the furor over the theft to subside – attempted to sell it to an Italian art dealer. The dealer instead alerted the authorities, who arrested Peruggia. The "Mona Lisa" was returned to the Louvre, now a household name because of the theft, and Peruggia spent seven months in prison.
1976: Theft of the Sword of Charles X
Similar to Sunday's robbery, a trio of masked men stole a jeweled 19th-century sword belonging to French King Charles X by using a scaffold to enter the museum through its second floor. The sword – which was housed in the Apollo Gallery, the same gallery from which the Napoleonic jewels were stolen Sunday – has never been recovered.
1983: Theft of 16th-century armor
In 1983, two pieces of 16th-century Renaissance armor gifted to the museum by the Rothschild family were stolen from the museum overnight. Nearly 40 years passed before the armor was recovered in 2021, when an appraiser recognized the helmet and upper back piece among the items he was valuing as part of an estate in Bordeaux and contacted police.
It was never determined who stole the armor pieces or how they did it. The pieces were returned to the Louvre and are on display there.
1990: Theft of a Renoir painting and Roman jewels
In broad daylight, thieves cut a small Renoir painting called "Portrait of a Seated Woman" from its frame on a third-floor gallery and made off with it. Also stolen were 12 pieces of Roman jewelry. The treasures have yet to be recovered.
1998: Theft of "Le Chemin de Sevres"
In the most recent reported theft from the Louvre prior to Sunday's, a Camille Corot painting called "Le Chemin de Sevres" was cut from its frame, like the Renoir and the "Mona Lisa." The theft prompted the museum to undergo a security overhaul, but the painting remains missing.
