On May 30, a person attempted to vandalize the Mona Lisa by smearing it with a cake. They didn’t harm the painting because it’s protected by bulletproof glass.
Credit: AP
FILE - Visitors pose in front of Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa in the Louvre museum, Wednesday, May, 19, 2021 in Paris. A man seemingly disguised as an old woman in a wheelchair threw a piece of cake at the glass protecting the Mona Lisa on Sunday May 29, 2022 at the Louvre Museum and shouted at people to think of planet Earth. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File)
The Mona Lisa, on display at the Louvre in Paris, France, is one of the most famous paintings in the world. Painted in the early 1500s by Leonardo da Vinci, the Mona Lisa is the French art museum’s biggest draw, bringing in visitors from around the world.
The painting made headlines this week thanks to an attempt to vandalize it using a cake. Visitors to the Louvre posted photos and videos to social media that appeared to show cake smeared across the lower half of the portrait. Following the incident, one of the most popular Google searches for the Mona Lisa was “Is the Mona Lisa ruined by cake?”
Was the Mona Lisa ruined by a cake?
THE SOURCES
THE ANSWER
No, the Mona Lisa was not ruined by a cake. The painting is housed within a protective glass case, which shielded it from the cake smearing.
WHAT WE FOUND
Although no video has surfaced of the vandal smearing the cake on the painting, several witnesses did share images showing the outcome. One witness simply tweeted out that “someone smashed a cake on Mona Lisa” with an attached video that shows museum staff wiping cake off the famous painting’s display.
According to another witness who posted a similar video and explained what happened in more detail, a man disguised as an elderly woman in a wheelchair allegedly jumped out of the wheelchair and attempted to break the glass protecting the painting. He then smeared cake across the glass before he was stopped by security, according to the post.
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
The same witness posted a follow-up video in which the perpetrator shouted in French while being escorted out of the building by security. According to translations from news reports, he told the crowd, “Think about the Earth. There are people who are destroying the Earth. Think about it … all artists, think about the Earth — this is why I did this. Think about the planet.”
The Louvre did not respond to a VERIFY request for comment at the time of publishing. The museum told CBS News that the painting had not suffered any damage, and the man had hidden the cake inside his personal belongings.
According to the Louvre’s website, the Mona Lisa has been displayed in a protective glass case at the center of the museum’s biggest room since 2005.
“This special treatment stems partly from the need to ensure the safety of such a famous work, but is also due to conservation requirements: the work was not painted on canvas, but on a panel of poplar wood which has warped over the years, causing a crack to appear,” the museum explains on its website. “To prevent further damage, the Mona Lisa has to be kept in a temperature and humidity-controlled glass case.”
In a June 2013 essay on art and psychiatry for the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Psychiatry, the late Johns Hopkins psychiatry professor James C. Harris wrote that the Mona Lisa was vandalized multiple times in the mid-20th century before museums displayed it behind glass. There were two attacks in 1956: Someone sprayed the painting with acid and then another person threw a rock that embedded in the Mona Lisa’s elbow later that year. Then in 1974, a woman threw red paint on it to protest a lack of handicap parking while the painting was on loan to a museum in Japan.
To protect the painting from further attacks, the Louvre gave the painting the best security it could offer.
“Today, the Mona Lisa is displayed in a purpose-built, climate-controlled enclosure behind two sheets of bulletproof, triple-laminated glass separated by 25 cm,” Harris wrote. “It is on a wall at a distance from other paintings in the Louvre's Salle des Etats. It has been in this ‘glass box’ since 1974 and is inspected annually; the silica gel used to maintain a safe temperature is regularly monitored. Thus, nonreflective, unbreakable glass protects it from climatic change, camera flashes, and willful attack.”
The painting’s case is apparently just as cake-proof as it is bulletproof.
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FAQs
THE ANSWER
Why was the Mona Lisa smeared with cake? ›
The Mona Lisa escaped unharmed when a visitor to the Louvre in Paris tried to smash the glass protecting the world's most famous painting before smearing cake across its surface in an apparent climate-related publicity stunt.
What happened to the guy who threw cake at the Mona Lisa? ›
The 36-year-old man was detained and sent to a psychiatric unit, according to the AP. The original Mona Lisa was painted by Leonardo da Vinci between 1503 and 1519.
Did they clean the Mona Lisa after the cake? ›
The plan didn't exactly work out as well as the individual had hoped as the Mona Lisa is protected by a layer of glass which was easily wiped clean after the incident. With such notoriety, it's no surprise that there's been no less than five attempts to deface La Gioconda over the years.
What would happen if you ruined the Mona Lisa? ›
If the Mona Lisa were vandalized with oil paint, the damage would likely be severe. Oil paint can tightly bond with the underlying layers, making its removal without causing further harm challenging. The colors and details of the original painting could be obscured or altered, leaving irreversible marks.
Why do people try to destroy the Mona Lisa? ›
In 1974, the Mona Lisa was sprayed with red paint while on display at the Tokyo National Museum, as a protest against the museum's lack of access for disabled people. In 2009, a visitor threw a teacup at the painting, shattering the protective glass — in both cases, the Mona Lisa was unharmed.
Was the Mona Lisa damaged by acid? ›
The bottom of the canvas suffered damage from an acid attack in the 1950s, which prompted officials to tighten security around the painting, including adding bulletproof glass and other measures. Then, in 2022, a man disguised as an elderly woman in a wheelchair smeared cake across the Mona Lisa's protective glass.
How many times has the Mona Lisa been vandalized? ›
The Mona Lisa has drawn a fair few attacks throughout her history, having now been subject to vandalism or attempted vandalism six times. The first time the Mona Lisa was attacked, in 1956, was likely the most violent attack — when her lower half was doused in acid.
Was the Mona Lisa smeared in cream? ›
The man, whose identity was unknown, was also seen throwing roses in the museum gallery. Disguised as an old lady, he later jumped out of the wheelchair before lunging at the bulletproof glass. The cake attack left a conspicuous white creamy smear but the famous work by Leonardo da Vinci was not damaged.
Who is the woman in the Mona Lisa? ›
Mona Lisa - identity. Based on the mid-sixteenth century biography of Leonardo da Vinci by Giorgio Vasari, many historians believe the painting is a portrait of Madam Lisa Giocondo, wife of a wealthy Florentine.
King Francis I of France acquired the Mona Lisa after Leonardo's death in 1519, and it is now the property of the French Republic. It has normally been on display at the Louvre in Paris since 1797.
How much is the Mona Lisa worth? ›
All this means it is nearly impossible to place an exact value on the Mona Lisa. However, when the Mona Lisa was insured in 1962, its value was placed at $100 million. Recent estimates, considering inflation, suggest the painting would be worth over $834 million by today's standards.
Why is Mona Lisa smiling? ›
Before, during and long after the Renaissance, artists did not paint their subjects smiling. Leonardo made a definite decision, though, even hiring people to come and, wrote Vasari, “make her remain merry, in order to take away that melancholy which painters are often wont to give to the portraits that they paint”.
Is The Mona Lisa permanently damaged? ›
The protest at famed Paris museum the Louvre was an effort to draw attention to food insecurity in France, the organization said. The painting, which is encased in a sheet of bulletproof glass, was not damaged in the incident.
Could I destroy the Mona Lisa if I legally bought it? ›
By being a part of the Louvre collection, she actually belongs to the public, although the French government “owns” the painting. However, if you buy any piece of art, it is yours to do with what you like.
Is there a mistake on the Mona Lisa? ›
During 2006, the Mona Lisa underwent a major scientific observation that proved through infrared cameras she was originally wearing a bonnet and clutching her chair, something that da Vinci decided to change as an afterthought.
Was the Mona Lisa damaged by the cake? ›
No, the Mona Lisa was not ruined by a cake. The painting is housed within a protective glass case, which shielded it from the cake smearing.
Did the real Mona Lisa get caked? ›
It has also been the target of theft and vandalism on several occasions. Since the start of the 20th century, the painting, which was acquired by France in 1797, has had spray paint and a teacup thrown at it. In 2022, it was caked, and in 2024, soup was splashed across it.
Why did he throw a pie at the Mona Lisa? ›
“I had a stone in my pocket and suddenly the idea to throw it came to my mind,” the police quoted him as saying. He later said he was jobless, had no money and simply wanted to be jailed during the cold weather.
How many times was the Mona Lisa stolen? ›
The Mona Lisa has been stolen once but has been vandalized many times. It was stolen on 21 August 1911 by an Italian Louvre employee who was driven to act by his Italian patriotism.
