Stealing the “Mona Lisa” was especially stupefying, since it would be almost impossible to fence the most recognizable painting in the world. As thousands of people flocked to the Louvre to see the empty space where the famous portrait had hung, French detectives scrambled to find and arrest the thief or thieves. The author of the letter, Vincenzo Perugia, eventually produced the picture from the bottom of a trunk in his hotel room, and he was promptly arrested. Scotti combines her skills as historian and novelist to re-create this sensational crime, which has all the twists and turns of a mystery novel, except that it’s true.

Tags: artist, sfumato-fumo, leonardo de vinci, Leonardo Da Vinci Painting, leonardo da vinci paintings, of, leonardo da vinci drawings, drawings