Vanished Smile

February 16, 2009
In 1911, the Louvre’s most famous denizen disappeared. Two books recount the sensational crime and a field of fascinating characters.
Vanished Smile: The Mysterious Theft of the Mona Lisa
R.A. Scotti
. Knopf
, $23.95 (256p) ISBN 978-0-307-26580-7

In this charming account of the brazen 1911 theft of the Mona Lisa
from the Louvre and the two-year quest to bring her home, Scotti (Basilica
) explores not only the puzzling crime but also the source of the painting’s universal appeal and its provenance. On the morning of Tuesday, August 22, La Joconde
was found missing from the Salon Carré. Even with help of renowned French criminologist Alphonse Bertillon, the trail was cold from the start. Rumors abounded about greedy, wealthy American collectors and the Louvre’s lax security. No one in Paris was above suspicion, not even the young Pablo Picasso. While the portrait was finally recovered in Florence in 1913, its theft apparently the result of a young Italian’s misguided patriotism (the painting’s probable subject is a young Florentine, Lisa del Giocondo), Scotti is eager to remind readers that the mystery is far from over. The true motive for the theft—and the possible connection to a larger ring of art thieves—remains tantalizingly unknown by the end of this lively recounting. Photos.

Starred review from March 15, 2009
Rigorous study of the circumstances, theories and individuals surrounding the 1911 theft of Leonardo da Vinci's famous masterpiece.

Since her creation in 1503, Mona Lisa has served as muse, riddle and obsession for scholars, scientists, musicians, writers and art patrons. At the height of Europe's BelleÉpoque, she disappeared, seemingly right from under the noses of Louvre guards, plunging the worlds of both high culture and regular society into grief and outrage. For more than two years, rumors, parody and scandalous accusations peppered global headlines, as investigators struggled to piece together the crime and, most crucially, identify the culprit. Citizens of every echelon were suspect, from museum employees to denizens of the art world, including painters, collectors and dealers. Various theories of collaborations and plots swirled around for decades. Scotti (Basilica: The Splendor and the Scandal: Building St. Peter's, 2006, etc.) masterfully excavates historical truths and brazen speculations, deftly interlacing them into a gracefully crafted account that weds heady prose to shrewd investigative journalism. Her elegant yet bold reconsideration of the most famous art crime in history offers a rare meditation on the notion of motive. Analyzing a work of art that has been anthropomorphized into mythic status for five centuries, Scotti nails it:"When Mona Lisa slipped out of her frames, she seemed to change from a missing masterpiece to a missing person. She came alive in the popular imagination. The public felt her loss as emotionally as an abduction or kidnapping." More nuanced and focused than Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler's The Crimes of Paris (2009), Scotti's inquiry peels away veils of hearsay and sensationalism to reveal a caper as enigmatic as its victim.

Mystery fans, history buffs and culture vultures alike will savor this delectable immersion in the mindset of an age.

(COPYRIGHT (2009) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

February 15, 2009
At the outset, this has the feel of a cozy mystery about anartcaper of a century ago. Scotti, brisk and irreverent, introduces characters with a keen eye for quirky traits, and enticingly sets the scene, the Louvre on an August Sunday of stupefying heat. The fact that this isa covertly informative work of entertaining narrative nonfiction only adds to its impact. Scotti, whose Basilica (2006) chronicled the building of St. Peters, has reopened one of the most delectable unsolved cases in the annals of art crime: the 1911 theft ofMona Lisa. The lovely woman with the enigmatic smile was simply lifted off the wall and spirited away. The scandal was immense, the investigation feverish, the headlines screaming, andScotti revels in every turn. Her lively, expert coverage encompasses the fascinating, many-chaptered story ofMona Lisa and ironic revelations about the frenzy among Americas robber barons for old masters and the corresponding renaissance in art fraud. Then there are the two unlikely suspects, Pablo Picasso and poet and critic Guillaume Apollinaire. Leonardos masterpiece was recovered after two frantic years, but the full story ofMona Lisas abduction is yet to be told. Scottis avid, exciting true-life mystery yieldsintriguingdisclosures and reaffirmsMona Lisas unique powers.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)