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S13 Ep5: The Mona Lisa Mystery | Clip

Theft of the Mona Lisa from the Louvre

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In the summer of 1911, the relatively obscure Mona Lisa portrait was stolen from a Renaissance gallery in The Louvre Museum. The scandal soon made the Leonardo da Vinci painting a household name. A handyman Vincenzo Peruggia committed the crime, removing the wooden panel portrait from its frame and escaping in broad daylight the following day when the museum was closed. An entire day passed before anyone noticed the masterpiece was missing. Police failed to zero in on the handyman; Perruggia was only caught when he contacted an art gallery owner Alfredo Geri in Florence about the painting.

Secrets of the Dead: The Mona Lisa Mystery, airs Wednesday, July 9 at 10 p.m. ET on PBS (check local listings).

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TRANSCRIPT

August 1911.

At the Louvre Museum in Paris, a small portrait, the Mona Lisa, hangs in a Renaissance gallery.

Until now, she's been a work of little renown.

But she's about to become a sensation.

After the museum locks its doors, a handyman, Vincenzo Peruggia, climbs out of hiding and pries the portrait from its frame.

He knows the layout of the gallery well.

He was recently hired to do renovation work at the Louvre.

Peruggia carefully wraps the priceless wooden panel in a cloth.

The next morning, in broad daylight, he walks out with the Mona Lisa tucked under his arm.

An entire day passes before anyone notices the masterpiece is missing.

Then, she hits the headlines.

Until the heist, Leonardo da Vinci's portrait was known mainly to art experts.

Almost overnight, the Mona Lisa became a household name.

The scandal had made her a superstar.

The police interrogate a number of suspects, but failed to zero in on the handyman.

The Mona Lisa had vanished.

No one knew if she would ever be seen again.

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