Maurice Strauss , a well-known historical novelist of his day, wrote in Le Figaro that“gentleman bandit” Adam Worth stole the Mona Lisa. According to Strauss, the only eyewitness says the thief was 50 years old with thin features and a slight figure, under average height. The description fits Worth. Strauss said that Prefect of Police Louis Lepine and Chief of the Surete Octave Hamard agree that it is probable the thief is Worth.
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| Adam Worth The "Napoleon of Crime" |
The only problem was that Worth died on January 8, 1902 -- some 9-1/2 years before the theft. It was Strauss' thinking that Worth who was known as the "Napoleon of Crime" was such an accomplished criminal mastermind that he could have faked his own death and pulled off the unthinkable theft.
One of the many reasons that Worth's name even came up was that besides being a master thief in all areas, he had also stolen a major work of art. In 1876, he took Thomas Gainsborough's the Duchess of Devonshire from a London Gallery. He kept it with him for an incredible 25 YEARS before handing it over to an agent of the Pinkerton Detective Agency. in the US. I always thought the 2-1/2 years that Peruggia held onto the Mona Lisa was a long time until I read about Worth and the Duchess of Devonshre.
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| Gainsborough's the Duchess of Devonshire |
Worth's life is a movie in itself. Maybe that'll be my next project. There's an excellent biography by Ben Macintyre that is fascinating reading.
And author Martin Page wrote a novel partly based on the Strauss' notion that Worth faked his own death. But Page then has Worth assuming Peruggia's identity to get into the Louvre and steal the Mona Lisa. One of the silliest things in that book is that Worth as Peruggia smuggled the Mona Lisa out of the Louvre in his "lunch pail." To do that, he would need a lunch pail the size of a very large suitcase - 21 x 30 inches. The book is out of print but can be found on the internet. The Man Who Stole The Mona Lisa
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