Who stole the Mona Lisa from the Louvre in 1911?

Answer

It was recovered in 1913 and the theft made it world famous.

Context

The theft happened on 21 August 1911, a day the Louvre was closed to visitors. Smithsonian reporting says Peruggia, spelled Perugia in some accounts, and two brothers named Lancelotti hid overnight in a storeroom near the Salon Carré, then dressed as workmen in white smocks. They took the painting from its glass and frame and carried it out beneath clothing. The loss went unnoticed for about 26 hours.

Police questioned Louvre staff in November 1911 without identifying Peruggia. They arrested Pablo Picasso and Guillaume Apollinaire, friends of a man who had stolen small sculptures from the museum, but both were quickly released. Peruggia kept the painting until December 1913, when he took it to Florence and tried to sell it to an art dealer, who called the police.

Peruggia pleaded guilty after a short trial in Florence and served eight months in prison. He is widely reported to have claimed patriotic motives, saying the painting belonged in Italy; the Smithsonian account stresses that he hoped to sell it.

The press coverage was extraordinary. Newspapers carried banner headlines, parodies appeared, and crowds came to look at the empty wall, Franz Kafka among them. After recovery the painting toured Florence, Milan and Rome before returning to Paris. Today around eight million people see it each year, which is why historians often describe the theft as the event that turned a respected painting into a global icon.