TIL: The Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre in August of 1911.

The public, in disbelief, piled into the museum just to see the empty area where she had been.

The painting was missing for 2 years. Suspects included Pablo Picasso.

In autumn of 1913, an Italian man turns up to an antique dealer in Paris, only blocks away from the museum to return the painting. His reason for the theft? He wanted the painting returned to Italy.

Before restoring it to the Louvre, The Mona Lisa went on a tour of museums in Italy.

I guess this was all a huge deal at the time. Now I’m interested in newspaper headlines from 1911!