Mona Lisa vandalized: who insures the artwork?

The Mona Lisa, the most famous work of art in the world, has been vandalized. On 29 May 2022, a visitor to the Louvre Museum (Paris), threw a pastry on the portrait of Mona Lisa.

Protected by an armored glass, the painting of Leonardo da Vinci was not damaged. The author of the act was apprehended and then admitted to the psychiatric infirmary of the police station. An investigation has been opened for "attempted damage to cultural property".

It should be noted that the Mona Lisa is not covered by an insurance policy taken out with a third party. The State, owner of the work of art, is its own insurer.

The Mona Lisa, victim of several attacks in the past

The portrait of Florentine Lisa Gherardini has been vandalized many times. In 1956, two attemps to damage the cultural property the oil painting were conducted. The first with acid, seriously damaged the work of art. The second, by throwing projectiles, damaged the left arm of Mona Lisa.

In 1974, during an exhibition in Tokyo, a visitor in a wheelchair attacked the painting with red paint. The attempt did not reach the artwork thanks to the armored glass around it. Thirty-five years later, in 2009, a woman threw a cup at the masterpiece, again no damage was made.

The Mona Lisa was also stolen in 1911 by the Italian glazier Vincenzo Peruggia who worked at the Louvre. It was only in 1914 that the work of art was returned to the Louvre after an unsuccessful attempt to resell it.