when was the mona lisa stolen

The Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre on 21 August 1911 (the theft was discovered on 22 August 1911).

Quick Scoop: What Happened?

• The painting disappeared from the Louvre in Paris in late August 1911.

• The thief was an Italian worker, Vincenzo Peruggia, who had previously worked at the museum.

• The Mona Lisa remained missing for over two years and was recovered in Italy in December 1913.

A Little Story Time

Imagine walking into the Louvre in 1911, heading to the Salon Carré to sketch the famous portrait, and instead finding an empty space on the wall.
That is exactly what happened on the morning the Mona Lisa’s disappearance was noticed: regular artists arrived to study the painting and suddenly realized she was gone.

At first, guards assumed the painting had simply been removed for photography, which delayed the alarm and let the thief stay well ahead of investigators.

Meanwhile, Peruggia kept the painting hidden in a modest Paris apartment, treating it as a patriotic treasure he believed should “return” to Italy.

Only when he finally tried to sell it to a Florentine dealer in 1913 did the scheme fall apart, leading to his arrest and the Mona Lisa’s dramatic comeback tour in Italy before returning to the Louvre.

TL;DR:
The Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre on 21 August 1911, the theft was discovered on 22 August, and the painting was recovered in Italy in December 1913.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.