The Missing Piece: Vincenzo Peruggia and the Unthinkable Theft of the Mona Lisa

THE NPR INTERVIEW

2011-10-20T09:52:00.000-07:00

I had the good fortune to do an interview with Doug Fabrizio of the NPR station KUER in Salt Lake City. Doug's a great interviewer and we had a good time examining the detail's of Peruggia's incredible crime. Take a listen.

http://bit.ly/rsHKWQ

NEW STORY ABOUT THEFT ON THE MORTON REPORT

2011-08-16T13:41:00.001-07:00

NEW STORY ABOUT THEFT ON THE MORTON REPORT

Who was the real mastermind behind the theft of the Mona Lisa?

2011-08-01T11:10:00.000-07:00

Many people say that someone other than Vincenzo Peruggia stole the Mona Lisa from the
Louvre. That it was really an elaborate conspiracy to sell forgeries of the painting. This clip from our documentary The Missing Piece shows why that story is simply not true.

OUR NEW TRAILER

2011-05-06T16:34:00.000-07:00

It's the greatest little-known art theft of all time. With the most unlikely thief. And no one knows why he really did it. Until now. 100 years after the theft of the Mona Lisa, writer/director Joe Medeiros finds the real reason Vincenzo Peruggia stole the Mona Lisa from the Louvre -- a reason Peruggia's only daughter didn't even know.

CELESTINA PERUGGIA 1924 - 2011

2011-03-13T20:36:00.000-07:00

It's with great sadness that I tell you that Celestina Peruggia passed away on Thursday, March 10 2011 in Italy. From the moment I met her in May 2008, I felt like she was the grandmother I always wanted. She was so kind and sweet and shared with us everything she knew about her father so that we could tell his story in our film.

She had suffered in the last few years from heart problems. Last year, she lost her husband Amleto, her companion of more than 60 years.

Although we had spoken to Celestina on several occasions, the last time we saw her was in October 2008 when we shared with her what we found out about her father Vincenzo.

At that time, she said that she was happy with what we found and was closing the story of the Gioconda and would not do any more interviews.

I feel tremendously lucky and honored not only to have known this fine woman, her husband Amleto, daughter Graziella and son Silvio but to be able to tell the story of her father in an honest, factual and human way.

If the man who stole the Mona Lisa was anything like his daughter Celestina, I would have been happy to have known him.

I've been seeing this woman's face every day for the last 3 years as I've worked on the film. It's like losing a family member. I hope that she's with her husband Amleto, her mother Annunciata, her second father Ernesto and her "vero papa" Vincenzo.

I hope our film, "The Missing Piece" is a fitting tribute to them all.

THE LATEST FROM AN AUTHOR WE INTERVIEWED

2011-02-06T09:13:00.000-08:00

This is the latest book by Ed Dolnick, a terrific author we interviewed for our film. We talked to him about one of his previous books about art theft -- The Rescue Artist about Charley Hill, the Scotland Yard detective who recovered Munch's The Scream. Ed's books are available on Amazon. And remember, if you shop Amazon through our website http://www.monalisamissing.com/The_Missing_Piece/THE_STORE.html 4% of the purchase price goes toward funding our film!

THE WOODEN TRUNK

2011-02-02T08:07:00.000-08:00

Vincenzo Peruggia kept the Mona Lisa in the bottom of a wooden trunk he built. Because it had a false bottom he was able to bring the painting to Florence unnoticed by custom officials. Last Sunday, my son Justin and I built a replica of the trunk. The full scene will be in the film but here's a time lapse of the construction. The trunk is a lot bigger than I thought.

WE GOT A GRANT

2011-01-31T07:39:00.000-08:00

WE DID IT! Received a 5K grant from The Pacific Pioneer Fund. we want to thank the folks there. We're thrilled they think we have a good film! Now let's get the next one -- the Tribeca Documentary Grant. We've already entered The Missing Piece in some festivals -- Full Frame, True/False and the Sheffield UK Doc/Fest. More to come.

Mona Christmas and a Happy Louvre Year

2010-12-23T07:35:00.000-08:00

Justine and I would first like to wish you all a joyous holiday season and then bring you up to date on the progress of our film.

As you know, 2011 is a handful of days away and that marks the beginning of the 100th anniversary of Vincenzo Peruggia's unthinkable theft of the Mona Lisa. Right now, I'm working furiously to get a rough cut finished by January 7 so we can enter the first of many film festivals.

2010 brought some terrific developments.

We were the happy recipients of a $26,000 grant from the Daniel B. and Florence E. Green Family Foundation. This money will go a long way to helping us pay for the rights for archival photos and video. Many thanks to the Greens.

In May of this year, I had the good fortune to be flown to Paris by Kensington Productions to appear in an episode of their new television series Museum Secrets. They were doing a segment on the theft of the Mona Lisa and I was their official "talking head." I got to retrace some of Peruggia's steps as I carried a life-sized copy of the painting outside the Louvre and onto a bus where I made my escape.

Here is the link to two trailers from that show. (In the first, we're about 22-seconds in , the 2nd about 44-seconds in)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTEbppaKh7c&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_W23xYAHJkw

The series premieres in Canada on January 7 and hopefully will be here in the US later next year.   http://www.museumsecrets.tv/

While you're checking things out, visit our blog:  www.monalisadocumentary.blogspot.com It has lots of interesting tidbits on the history of the theft as well as clips from our film.

And if you're on Facebook, please become fans on our Fan Page (if you haven't already)  http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/The-Missing-Piece/106683748756

And one last shameless plug, check our our website  www.monalisamissing.com We have a Store page on that site and if you buy any books on Amazon through that page, a portion of the proceeds will go toward funding our film. (I guess I should have let everyone know that a lot more than 3 days before Christmas but keep it in mind for the future.)

Thanks again for your help, support and interest in our project.  August 21, 2011 is now just 8 months away!

Joe and Justine Medeiros

I know what the numbers and letters in Mona Lisa's eyes say...

2010-12-13T20:09:00.000-08:00

They say "2 hours, 9 minutes" which is how long the rough cut is of my doc on Vincenzo Peruggia, the man who stole the Mona Lisa from the Louvre.

It's a fitting day to finish the rough cut since 99 years ago on Dec. 13, newspapers around the world ran the story that the painting had been recovered in Florence and Peruggia had been arrested.

Check out some of the footage from the film on our Facebook fan page
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=484410742261

DEADLINE DECEMBER 17

2010-12-08T09:10:00.000-08:00

We decided to enter our first film festival and the deadline is December 17! There's a lot of work ahead for me to get a showable cut.

Trying to get Act 1 in shape today. In that part of the film, I tell the story of the theft, how I got interested in it and how this led me to Peruggia's daughter Celestina. Originally I had tried to write Peruggia's story as a fictional film but never finished it because I was just making stuff up instead of writing what really happened -- because I didn't know what had really happened. No one did. Here's clip from the rough cut telling about the 3 different versions of the story I tried.

MUSEUM SECRETS DEBUTS JANUARY 6

2010-12-03T15:28:00.000-08:00

In May, Kensington Productions flew me to Toronto to be their on-camera expert in a segment on the theft of the Mona Lisa in their new series Museum Secrets. It will air on History Television in Canada, January 6. Here are some production stills and a link to the show's trailer.

Photos by www.museumsecrets.tv

Link to the trailer....

http://blog.museumsecrets.tv/2010/12/inside-the-louvre-trailer/

1911 JOKE OF THE DAY

2010-11-10T16:50:00.001-08:00

THE 1911 MONA LISA THEFT JOKE OF THE DAY

This was printed in the Trenton Evening Times on this day in 1911:

"Don't you think there is a great likeness between me and the Mona Lisa, my dear?"

"Yes. You can follow her example and get stolen, too, if you like."

(I can hear all the knee slapping going on right now.)

IN THE CLOSET

2010-10-30T10:01:00.000-07:00

Vincenzo Peruggia said that he hid the Mona Lisa in his closet. It was even there when the police came to question him. Check out this video from my film of why the police might not have noticed it.

LOOKING AT NOTHING BUT NOTHING

2010-10-29T15:42:00.000-07:00

On October 28, 1911, this item was published in the San Antonio Express...

"There is no surprise to us in the report from Paris that more people gather to stare at the vacant space on the wall of the Louvre, where Da Vinci's stolen portrait, Mona Lisa hung, than ever before had gathered there to see the picture."

The theft actually brought thousands of looky-loos into the Louvre just for that reason. So attendance was up. And it was months before the Louvre filled the spot the Mona Lisa had with this guy --

Raphael's Baldassare Castiglione, painted in 1514-1515. It was said Raphael modeled the pose after the Mona Lisa.

PERUGGIA'S STREET THEN AND NOW

2010-10-26T17:40:00.000-07:00

Vincenzo Peruggia kept the Mona Lisa in his room at 5 Rue de l'Hopital Saint Louis in the 10th Arrondissement in Paris. The Petit Parisien described his street as " A long row of buildings black, poor and ugly." Today it's an up and coming Paris neighborhood. Check out the video to see the street back then and today.

DID THE MONA LISA IN ITS FRAME WEIGH 200 POUNDS?

2010-10-14T17:19:00.000-07:00

I know it's not polite to talk about a lady's weight, but some sources say that Mona Lisa was Mona Lotsa.

New York Times writer Walter Littlefield said in a 1913 article that she weighed 212 pounds with the frame.

In a 1932 article in the Saturday Evening Post, journalist Karl Decker shaved a few pounds off that number but was still in the same heavyweight category -- making the painting too heavy for a small man like Peruggia to carry. That's why some people thought he had help.

The clip above is my attempt to show how Decker broke down the 200 pounds.

WHAT DID PEOPLE LOOK LIKE WHEN PERUGGIA WAS ALIVE?

2010-10-13T08:43:00.000-07:00

In 1978, I bought a house in Glenside, PA. It had been built in 1908, the same time period that Peruggia was working and living in Paris. In the basement of this house I found a box of glass negatives by an unknown photographer taken from 1904-1910.

For someone who loves photography, this was a treasure trove. I'm going to post a few of my favorites simply because the images are amazing. The clothes they wore, the expressions on their faces -- it's hard to believe that they lived 100 years ago. They look so alive.

Some of the negative envelopes were marked with names or titles.

This is Meta McDemond and her son Norman. And in the background is the house I bought in 1978. Mrs. McDermond was the owner. She was 95 when she sold the house to me and it broke her heart. We took wonderful care of the home and lived there until 1992 when we moved to LA. Leaving that home broke my heart.

This young woman is named Flora Blair. I wonder if it's some sort of a graduation picture because that could be a diploma in her hand.

This woman is Mrs. Richardson. What a winning smile.

This is Meta's older son Grant in a very big coat. Would any of our kids stand to be dressed like this today?

I love this guy. He's called "Billikins"

This was also taken at the house I bought. These people are the Grommicks. I don't think I've ever sat crossed legged on that porch in a suit.

ODE TO MISSING MONA

2010-10-09T16:15:00.000-07:00

The Mona Lisa inspired many a would-be Bard to wax poetic. Here some writer used the theft to moralize on flattery.

Since Mona Went Away

List to the moan from fair Paree;

Lost is the dame so good to see;

Mona Lisa, ah, where Is she?

Gone!

There she hung on the honored wall;

Now she has passed beyond recall;

Vanished with strangers—big or small?

Skipped!

Men who flatter may prove untrue;

Trust not strangers who come to woo;

Carry this moral home with you;

It’s good.

—Cleveland Plain Dealer

THE MISSING PIECE GETS A GRANT

2010-10-07T12:50:00.000-07:00

We're thrilled to say that our film The Missing Piece has been the recipient of a $26,000 grant from the Daniel B. and Florence E. Green Family Foundation. These funds are greatly appreciated and will go toward securing licensing rights for the archival photos and video we're using and to aid in the finishing costs of the film.

We thank the Greens for this generous contribution.

We continue to look for corporate sponsors and individual donors in any amount. Become part of this amazing project and get a credit in the film by making a donation. Contributions are made through the Greater Philadelphia Film Office and are tax deductible.

CONSPIRACY THEORIES IN 1911?

2010-10-06T14:10:00.000-07:00

The theft of the Mona Lisa was so beyond belief that many Parisians thought that there had to be another explanation. So this story started to make the rounds - the Mona Lisa had not been stolen. It had been damaged.

According to the rumor, the Louvre representative getting the painting for the photographer damaged it while removing it from the frame. The theft was concocted to give the restorer time to repair the picture.

The Louvre photographer

Two years later, the story was still going strong. In July 1913, Walter Littlefield of the New York Times published a full-page article that said the painting was destroyed by restorers working on the painting and that the story of the theft was just a cover-up.

WOULD THIS HAVE HELPED THE MONA LISA?

2010-10-03T08:44:00.000-07:00

No, it's not Joan from "Mad Men." It's an ad in the back of a 1913 Italian journal - "Corriere della Sera."

I've had to buy a number of newspapers from the period of the theft 1911-1913. They aren't as advertising-laden as our papers are today but the ads are typically charming, sometimes puzzling, and like this one, often hysterically funny.

It has the headline "IL SENO," which means "the breast." And it's an ad for Crema Americana - a breast enlargement cream. So even back in 1913, Americans were in the forefront of breast enlargement technology. And the Italians couldn't help but be interested.

If any of my friends reading this who know Italian would care to translate....

CELESTINA NEVER KNEW HER FATHER HAD STOLEN THE MONA LISA

2010-10-02T10:06:00.000-07:00

Celestina Peruggia grew up never knowing that her father was the man who stole the Mona Lisa. See her talk about it in a short clip from the film.

WHAT'S THE MONA LISA DOING IN LONDON?

2010-09-28T12:24:00.000-07:00

Maybe she's working as a busker to raise money for the trip back to Paris.

WHAT'S THE MONA LISA DOING TODAY?

2010-09-27T17:03:00.000-07:00

What else would any woman want to be doing in Paris? Shopping!

Postcard courtesy of Eileen White

WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK WITH OUR BLOG AFTER THIS COMMERCIAL MESSAGE...

2010-09-26T09:45:00.000-07:00

After the theft in 1911 and her return in 1913, the Mona Lisa became so familiar to the average person that merchants began to capitalize on this by putting her face in their ads and on their products. She became a worldwide celebrity pitch woman for a variety of products -- from cake to chocolate to phonograph needles. Whether she ever did an ad for a feminine hygiene product remains to be seen. (Images courtesy of Eileen White, the Louvre archives and my own personal collection)

For Italian mineral water

For chocolate

For cake

For a pharmacy. This one says that if you cut out the shape, the shadow from it will create the image of the Mona Lisa

Phonograph needles

This was the hotel in Florence where Peruggia was arrested in December 1913. Originally, it was called the Hotel Tripoli-Italia. But there was such notoriety after the return of the painting, that the owner changed it to the Hotel Gioconda, a name it still has today. In fact, you can stay in Peruggia's room -- which we did. But that's a subject of another blog.

WHERE'S MONA LISA TODAY?

2010-09-25T12:23:00.000-07:00

According to this postcard, she was taken to Egypt by the famous thief from French literature - Arsene Lupin (the gentleman on the right). In 1932, there was an American film starring John Barrymore as Arsene Lupin. (Postcard and Lupin poster courtesy of Eileen White, the Duchess of Poway)

In it, he stole the Mona Lisa. The first clip is of the painting being stolen and the second is Arsene returning it.

WHERE'S MONA LISA TODAY?

2010-09-24T12:23:00.000-07:00

Or it could be a donkey... a mule... or a badly done horse. The pun is bad too, but it made you look here, didn't it? What can I say, sex sells. Anyway, here's another in the series or Mona Lisa's post-theft globe trotting adventures. Postcard courtesy of the intrepid Eileen White.

LIVE FROM NEW YORK...

2010-09-23T07:57:00.000-07:00

...it's La Joconde in another of her pre-Photoshop adventures. (Actually, she did go to New York in 1963 to be displayed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art -- thanks to the persuasiveness of Jackie Kennedy. To find out more about Mona's real New York adventure, read Margaret Leslie Davis' book Mona Lisa in Camelot. You can order it here and we'll get a percentage of the profit for our film).

(Postcard courtesy of Eileen White)

WHERE IS THE MONA LISA TODAY?

2010-09-22T12:43:00.000-07:00

Tour de France perhaps? It looks like she's bulked up a bit. Did they have steroids back then? (Postcard courtesy of Eileen White)

WHERE IS THE MONA LISA TODAY?

2010-09-21T20:25:00.000-07:00

This is one of a series of Mona Lisa postcards that were printed after her disappearance. They showed her basically traveling around the country and the world. Here she is near the Moulin Rouge in Paris. Postcard courtesy of our fantastic researcher Eileen White.

A POSTCARD FROM VINCENZO PERUGGIA

2010-09-19T08:29:00.000-07:00

After Vincenzo Peruggia was arrested in Florence for trying to sell the Mona Lisa to art dealer Alfredo Geri, the police raided his family's home in Dumenza, Italy. A number of letters and postcards that he had written to his father were seized by police as evidence. We found many in the Italian archives. Vincenzo Peruggia who'd been in Paris a little over a year wrote this postcard on this day in 1909. It deals mainly with money that Peruggia was trying to send home and also concern for his younger Ernesto's working situation. We don't know where Ernesto was working or what he was doing, but oldest brother Vincenzo didn't seem pleased.

Giacomo Peruggia, Vincenzo's father

Ernesto Peruggia, Vincenzo's youngest brother

Dear father,

The other day I received your dear letter and I feel that you all are in good health; my health is fine too.

As of what you told me, you can count on me too. I will send you a good amount.

As for brother Ernesto, I don't like the job he's got; I would be happy if he was waiting tables if not working in the kitchen.

My address is "Rue des Recollettes 27" and "Rue Vinaigriers 37".

I am sending you all a kiss. Your loving son Vincenzo

We think that a relative of Peruggia owned a restaurant which had an apartment above it at 37 Rue Vinaigriers and Peruggia spent his time between there and a hotel on Rue des Recollettes.

Rue des Recollettes

We tried to find 37 Rue Vinaigriers but that doesn't exist. It jumps from 34 to 39. We talked to a shop owner who said that during World War I, the Germans had been given orders to bomb Paris but they couldn't bring themselves to destroy the more beautiful parts of the city so they dropped their bombs on the area around Rue des Vinagriers.


Rue des Vinaigriers

I stumbled on a photo of the police investigating outside 39 Rue des Vinagriers after one of the bombings.

The caption reads.... "Rue des Vinaigriers in Paris, in Paris, a bomb dropped by a German airplane caused an explosion of gas."

I THINK BETTER NAMES WOULD BE RUFFAEL AND MUTTISE

2010-09-16T15:50:00.000-07:00

On this day in 1911, Acting Louvre Director Eugene Pujalet asked Prefect Paris Police for Lepine for two specially trained dogs to accompany the watchmen on their rounds. These were to prevent anyone from spending the night in the Louvre as the police had suspected whoever stole the Mona Lisa did. (Peruggia didn't) Pujalet selected them at the police kennels at Charenton. The dogs answer to the names Jack and Milord. The first being of a breed from Greenland origin, the second from Belgium .

IS BERTHE THE BEST MONA LISA?

2010-09-13T21:50:00.000-07:00

So far, Berthe Bovy (#7) leads the voting in the best Mona Lisa. Born January 6, 1887, she joined the Comedy Francaise in 1907. She appeared in film. theater and television programs for over 60 years. She died on February 26, 1977. Vote now for the ones you think are the best and the worst!

#1 AIDA BONI OF THE OPERA


#2 JEANNE REMY OF THE COMEDIE FRANCAISE

#3 JEANNE FABER OF THE COMEDIE FRANCAISE

#4 MARTHE CHENAL OF THE OPERA

#5 LUCY ARBELL OF THE OPERA

#6 LUCIENNE GUETT OF THE ODEON


# 7 BERTHE BOVY OF THE COMEDIE FRANCAISE

#7 MME DUSSANE OF THE COMEDIE FRANCAISE

#9 GILDA D'ARTHY OF THE ODEON

#10 GABRIELLE DORZIAT OF VAUDEVILLE

WOULD ANGELINA JOLIE HAVE DONE THIS?

2010-09-12T09:08:00.000-07:00

Thanks to my fantastic researcher Eileen White, I found out where the photos of these actresses came from -- a publication called Comoedia Illustre. Up to now, I only knew them as 20 photos we found in the Louvre Archives. This magazine covered all the actors and actresses of the day. I guess it was like their People magazine. These women were some of the top ladies of the stage and the Opera. It would be like Angelena Jolie, Julia Roberts or Tina Fey dressing up as Gioconda. Here are another 5.

#6 Lucienne Guett of the Odeon

# 7 Berthe Bovy of the Comedie Francaise

#7 Mme Dussane of the Comedie Francaise

#9 Gilda D'Arthy of the Odeon

#10 Gabrielle Dorziat of Vaudeville

WHO'S THE MONA MOSTA? AND THE MONA LEASTA?

2010-09-11T08:17:00.000-07:00

After the Mona Lisa was stolen, someone had to take her place, so it became fashionable for the ladies of the day to dress up as DaVinci's Gioconda. We found 20 photos worth in the Louvre archives. Here are just a few. I've numbered them - who do you think is the Best? And who's the worst? Tell me Add it to the comments. If I get enough responses we'll do a beauty contest with all 20.

#1 AIDA BONI OF THE OPERA

#2 JEANNE REMY OF THE COMEDIE FRANCAISE

#3 JEANNE FABER OF THE COMEDIE FRANCAISE

#4 MARTHE CHENAL OF THE OPERA

#5 LUCY ARBELL OF THE OPERA

KAFKA, MONA LISA AND THE MOVIES

2010-09-10T08:02:00.000-07:00

Writer Franz Kafka and his friend Max Brod rolled into Paris on September 9, 1911 and immediately went to the Louvre and joined the crowd of tourists staring at the blank space on the wall of the Salon Carre where the Mona Lisa had hung. They marveled at how the directors of the Louvre found the theft to be an opportunity to boost museum attendance by exhibiting this "mark of shame."

The next night, September 10, they went to the Omnia Pathé movie hall where they happened to see one of the many films that would be produced about the theft - a five-minute short entitled "Nick Winter and the Theft of the Mona Lisa."

According to Max Brod's description as detailed in the book Kafka Goes to the Movies by Hanns Zischler, the film opens with the character of the Louvre director Monsieur Croumolle (a not-so-subtle parody of the real director Homolle) being roused from sleep by a telegram saying that the Mona Lisa was stolen. In a panic, he gets dressed -- putting two legs into one pant, one foot into two socks -- you know, the kind of silent movie slapstick that had them rolling in the aisles in the early 1900s. (I still think that many of the Chaplin and Keaton films are funnier and more original than anything we see today.)

When a shoe button is found in the Louvre (it turns out to be Croumolle's), the detective Nick Winter poses as a shoeshine boy and runs around Paris forcing passers-by to have their shoes shined in order to catch the culprit.

The button is discovered to be Croumolle's and he is arrested for the theft. The final scene, amid lots of running around in the Louvre, is of the real thief re-entering with the Mona Lisa and putting it back on the wall. He takes Velazquez's Princess instead. No one sees this happen but then suddenly they all notice the Mona Lisa has returned. In the corner the thief has left a note: "Pardon me, I am nearsighted, I actually wanted to have the painting next to it." Croumolle is released.

The Velazquez the thief took

The stills from the film are from the book mentioned above. I doubt if any print of Nick Winter and the Theft of the Mona Lisa still exists.

DID THE NAPOLEON OF CRIME STEAL THE MONA LISA?

2010-09-09T10:41:00.000-07:00

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.

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.

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

REWARDS... BUT NO TAKERS

2010-09-08T14:44:00.000-07:00

No sooner had the Mona Lisa been stolen then rewards were offered for her return. The magazine L'Illustration offered 10,000 francs ($2,000) for information leading to the return of the painting and 40,000 francs ($8,000) for anyone bringing the painting to the L'Illustration offices. There was a 5,000 franc ($1,000) bonus if they'd bring it in before September 1. These offers were good for 30 days.

On September 8, 1911, publisher Gerault-Richard of the Paris Journal offered his own reward of 25,000 francs for information leading to the return of the Mona Lisa because he wanted it reported in his paper first.

Obviously, there were no takers. It's not surprising. Everyone was saying that the Mona Lisa was worth $5 million (25 million francs) so 10,000-45,000 francs would have been considered a paltry sum.

WHY WAS PABLO PICASSO QUESTIONED IN THE MONA LISA INVESTIGATION?

2010-09-07T16:25:00.000-07:00

Pablo Picasso

Apollinaire

On this day in 1911, Pablo Picasso's closest friend Guillame Kostrowitsky, better known as the poet Apollinaire was arrested by the police. He was charged with “harbouring a criminal.” The criminal in question was his erstwhile secretary and associate, a Belgian named Gery Pieret.

Three days before on September 4, Pieret wrote a letter to the Paris Journal saying that he had stolen a Phoenician statuette from the Louvre on May 27 and was ready to give it back for "a certain sum." The newspaper sent a reporter to meet the thief who gave an account of his operations at the Louvre. Apparently Pieret had taken things from the Louvre before. In March 1907, he stolen two Iberian statues from the Louvre and sold them to Picasso who was interested in that type of art for his Cubist studies -- but Picasso had no idea they were stolen. In fact, according to Pierre Daix, friend and biographer of Picasso, these statues had inspired some of the faces in Picasso's masterpiece Les Demoiselles d'Avignon.

Picasso's Les Demoiselles D'Avignon

Picasso, who had the Iberian statues stored in a closet and had forgotten about them, panicked when he read about Gery Pieret's confession. He met with Apollinaire and they wrestled with what to do with the statues. Picasso's former mistress Fernande Olivier claimed that they put the statues in a suitcase and were going to throw them into the Seine.

Apparently Apollinaire turned the statues in to the office of the Paris Journal and when the police paid him a visit, they found letters from Gery Pieret in Apollinaire's apartment. Thinking that this was part of a great art theft conspiracy that may have included the theft of the Mona Lisa, Apollinaire was taken into custody.

Picasso was brought in for questioning but insisted that he didn't know the statues were stolen and knew nothing else about the affair and wasn't held. Apollinaire remained in jail until September 12 when he was released.

MONA LISA IN LA?

2010-09-06T08:52:00.000-07:00

On this day in 1911, the Los Angeles Times reported that John E. Wilkie, chief of US Secret Service was due in LA for his annual call of inspection. Reports from the East indicated that he may have been in quest of the stolen Mona Lisa.

The Mona Lisa was supposed to have been brought to the US for the purposes of selling it to a well-known western patron of art.

The information in possession of the Secret Service was that the Mona Lisa was smuggled across the international boundary from Canada at a point west of the Great Lakes where the customs scrutiny was less.

The LA Times said that Wilkie had “probably canvassed the possibilities of locating the western art patron in Portland and San Francisco and is to contiune his efforts in Southern California.”

According to the rumor, the source of which is carefully concealed, the picture was taken into Canada and brought over the border, the thieves realizing that the sea coast ports of the United States were too carefully guarded to permit getting the picture in that way. They are particularly interested in a report that agents of the camorra (Mafia) have the picture and are trying to dispose ofit to a noted western art fancier.

A CARTOONIST'S DELIGHT

2010-09-05T09:50:00.000-07:00

After the theft of the Mona Lisa, cartoonists had a great time poking fun at the Louvre, the thief and possible suspects. Here are some examples of the cartoons I've come across in my research.

The Des Moines News carried this comic strip of these two characters who seemed to be always searching for the Mona Lisa

At the time, France and Germany were dangerously close to war (which would not break out for another three years.) Because of this, many of the French thought that the Germans were behind the theft. Here we see a couple of German tourists admiring then stealing the Mona Lisa.


The cartoonist of the Chicago Daily Times gives an insight to how the real thief was enjoying his ill-gotten gains.

HOW COULD PERUGGIA DIE IN 1947 WHEN HE HAD ALREADY BEEN DEAD FOR NEARLY 22 YEARS?

2010-09-04T08:02:00.000-07:00

On this day in 1947, French newspapers reported that Vincenzo Peruggia, the man who stole the Mona Lisa died in Annemasse, a small village in the Haute-Savoie area of France. The problem was, that guy wasn't Peruggia. Vincenzo Peruggia died in a suburb of Paris on October 8, 1925 -- 22 years earlier of a heart attack. So who was the man who died in Haute Savoie? according to Celestina Peruggia, Vincenzo's 86-year-old daughter who we've interviewed at length for our film, he was an indigent or what we used to call a "bum." He had either found or had stolen Peruggia's ID and had gone around masquerading as him. It's amazing how many people still believe this story. Check wikipedia they have his date of death as September 2, 1947.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vincenzo_Peruggia

But we have his death certificate, a portion of which is reproduced below

RECREATING THE THIEF'S ROUTE

2010-09-03T08:08:00.000-07:00

How did he get in? How did he get out? These were two the the biggest questions the police had during the investigation of the theft. There was one theory that the thief (and his accomplices because some people believed more than one man did it) came into the museum on Sunday and stayed overnight in a closet (D in Illustration) near the Salon Carre (C) where the Mona Lisa hung. Monday morning, he (they) emerged and crossed the Salon to get the Mona Lisa, then went down a service staircase in the nearby room of Italian Primitive paintings (e). He then exited through a courtyard on the ground floor.

An illustrated in a London magazine had a completely different route, where the thief entered through the one of the main doors, climbed the main staircase and entered the Salon Carre that way.

When Peruggia was arrested in December 1913, he told Italian officials what his actual route was. And we reveal that in our film.

A BOOM IN MONA LISA POSTCARDS

2010-09-02T09:16:00.000-07:00

Mona Lisa postcard vendors on the streets of Paris

Once the theft happened, people found ways to capitalize on it and make some money for themselves. And one of the biggest ways was to make and sell postcards of the Mona Lisa. They range in every type imaginable --from basic ones showing the painting as she was with a small caption that she had been stolen from the Louvre -- all the way to imaginative ones where Mona Lisa is on a world tour.

She's in Egypt (Image courtesy of Eileen White)

The basic theft postcard

Now she's in London (Image courtesy of Eileen White)

This one's for Catholics who pray to Saint Anthony - the patron saint for things gone missing. You hold this postcard up to a candle, a match or a cigar and the heat makes the Moan Lisa appear.

Maybe the rats took her

But no matter where she is, she's thumbing her nose at the whole world

THE MONA LISA JOKES START ROLLING IN

2010-09-01T08:48:00.000-07:00

Obviously in 1911, there were no late night TV shows, email or blogs to spread jokes. But shortly after the theft, the newspapers were full of one liners and witticisms that were considered knee-slappers back in the day. Here are a few of the many that I found.

The Indianapolis Star:

Where is 'Mona Lisa at?" "We don't know where she's at, but we know where she ain't.”

Syracuse Herald:

Aren’t there enough live painted women in the world without a man having to run away with the Mona Lisa?

The Philadelphia Inquirer:

The Mona Lisa is the latest in moving pictures.

The News Palladium, Benton Harbor, MI:

The stealing of the Mona Lisa has advertised the painting so well that everybody knows now that it is not a baking powder, a hair dye or some new kind of perfume.

The Mansfield News, Mansfield, Ohio:

Perhaps that ineffable smile of "Mona Lisa" is only the grimace of a woman who saw some other woman wearing a prettier hat or more stunning gown.

The Lowell Sun, Lowell MA:

In the opinion of many the world will survive even if the Mona Lisa be lost without recall.

The Mansfield News, Mansfield, Ohio:

The manner of the disappearance of the Mona Lisa is still inscrutable as her smile.

San Antonio Express:

It is believed now that two women stole the Mona Lisa from the French gallery. We never believed that any impressionable young man could want it.

There were even topical jokes about JP Morgan who was suspected of being behind the theft (See August 31 blog)

The Evening Telegram, Elyria, Ohio

The famous Mona Lisa picture has been stolen from the Louvre at Paris. This is about the only way of assuring a work of art from final resting place in J. P. Morgan's back parlor.

The Washington Post:

For goodness sake, can't you let the artist keep "Mona Lisa" long enough for him to make an original for Mr. Morgan?

And by October, there were these lines:

Syracuse Herald

Mona Lisa's enigmatic smile must be-rather getting on the nerves of the man who stole her by this time.

Olean Evening Times, Olean NY

The French detectives are unlike Mona Lisa. Their smile has come off.

But not all jokes were one liners:

Cleveland Plain Dealer:

For hours the French sleuth had followed tbe man through devious highways and byways. The unsuspecting fellow slouching along with his canvas roll held tightly under his arm.

"Aha." hissed the smiling detective, "I have heem at ze last!"

He came a little closer. Spots of paint were distinctly visible on the

canvas roll. The sleuth sprang forward and snatched away the package.

"I ar-r-rest you." he dramatically cried, "for ze theft of ze gr-r-reat Mona Lisa!"

The suspect stared at the sleuth, and the sleuth stared at the unrolled canvas. "Monsieur." said the suspect calmly. "I will thank you to return to me my overalls!" And taking the canvas garment from the detective's nerveless fingers he continued along the road ...

AN AMERICAN DID IT

2010-08-31T07:58:00.000-07:00

Newspapers in 1911 were filled with stories of a mysterious American art collector who was behind the theft of the Mona Lisa. Americans were easy suspects because at the time many had become rich enough to begin gobbling up European art. The articles said that the American "was a close student of the 'Mona Lisa' and talked a great deal about it" although there was nothing to connect him with the actual disappearance. His name wasn't mentioned and it was said that he was a resident of a western city in the US, casting immediate suspicion on H.E. Huntington and William Randolph Hearst.

The American most often named in connection with the Mona Lisa theft was financier J.P. Morgan (below) who was repeatedly dogged by these rumors even after his death in Rome in 1913.

WERE THESE FACES REALLY WORTH MORE THAN THE MONA LISA?

2010-08-30T09:02:00.000-07:00

These are the cherubs from Raphael's painting the Sistine Madonna (below)

In 1911, after the theft of the Mona Lisa, there was a lot of talk about how much the painting was worth and $5,000,000 was the typical amount mentioned. But an article in the New York Times said: "That is a large sum of money, preposterously large for any painting, but the intrinsic value of Da Vinci's portrait is probably only less than that of the Sistine Madonna." (NYT, Aug 23, 1911)

Painted between 1513-1514, the Sistine Madonna is one of Raphael's best-loved masterpieces. It was highly regarded in art circles as perhaps the best example of western art -- even better than the Mona Lisa.

The canvas was originally located in the convent of St. Sixtus in Piacenza, Italy. It now hangs in a museum in Dresden, Germany.

THE DAY EVERYONE CAME TO STARE AT A BLANK SPOT ON THE WALL

2010-08-29T09:18:00.000-07:00

ON THIS DAY IN 1911 - 8 days after the theft of the Mona Lisa, the Louvre re-opened. The New York Times reported “Everyone entering the museum went to the Salon Carre to stare at the vacant space on the wall where the masterpiece had hung and to discuss the theft.”

Thirty inspectors and three sub-sergeants were placed in rooms designated by Museum Director Homolle.

Around noon, 80 people were in the Salon Carre. A woman placed a bouquet of roses at the spot where the Mona Lisa had hung. They were removed immediately by a museum employee. Even Franz Kafka would make the pilgrimage to the museum to stare at the "mark of shame."

The spot remained empty until January 7, 1912 when the Louvre filled the space with Raphael's portrait of Count Baldassare Castiglione who had once written a poem about the Mona Lisa.

Raphael's Baldassare Castiglione

IF SHE HAD BEEN STOLEN IN THE 1980s, HER FACE WOULD HAVE BEEN ON A MILK CARTON

2010-08-28T09:26:00.000-07:00

We all know the Mona Lisa's face today. But can you believe that in 1911 they had to distribute flyers? Judge Henri Drioux, who was the Examining Magistrate and basically the guy in charge of the investigation, had 6500 flyers with the Mona Lisa's face on them handed out to detectives and others so that they would know the painting if they saw her.

The actual flyer

Judge Drioux's description of the Mona Lisa

THE LOUVRE GOES TO THE DOGS

2010-08-27T14:17:00.000-07:00

On this day in 1911, the New York Times reported that robberies in the Louvre became so common that the Minister of Fine Arts directed that a corps of fox terriers, especially trained in barking, should be employed to aid the watchmen at night.

Minister of Fine Arts Dujardin-Beaumetz

DID THE CURSE OF KING TUT'S TOMB KILL THIS LOUVRE ADMINISTRATOR?

2010-08-26T08:07:00.000-07:00

On August 21, 1911 when the Mona Lisa was stolen, Theophile Homolle, the director of National Museums and Curator of the Louvre was on vacation. So Georges Benedite, the curator of Egyptian antiquities was in charge. He was the one who notified police that the painting was missing.

Benedite came to an unusual end in 1926 - some say from King Tut's curse. A note Egyptologist, Benedite had been exploring in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt since 1888. He had visited the tomb after it was discovered by archaeologist Howard Carter in November, 1922. Legend has it that anywhere from 12 to 26 people have died shortly after being around the tomb or Tut's mummy.

French physican and scholar Dr. J.C. Mardrus writing in the French paper Oeuvre in 1927 said "The death of Benedite did not surprise me at all ... Since Tut-Ankh-Amen's tomb was opened there have been a succession of dramatic events ... I am convinced that the Egyptians for 7000 years possessed the secret of surrounding their mummies with some dynamic force, of which we have only the faintest idea. "
(The Theosophical Path, Page 553)

Benedite died in 1926 of heat stroke, three years after working at the site.

Georges Benedite

Howard Carter opens Tut's tomb

POLICE FIND A DOORKNOB

2010-08-25T06:59:00.000-07:00

On this day in 1911, the police found a knob from this door at the bottom of the service staircase where the Mona Lisa's frame was found. It was lying in a ditch outside the Louvre where a man going to work had seen Peruggia throw it. A plumber named Sauvet going down the steps on Monday, the day of the theft, saw a man sitting there. He said: “I think that I could recognize the individual that I crossed in the staircase. He was tall, about 1m70, (5’6”) he wore a reddish mustache, a beard that was a bit dark, a chin and cheeks that were a little sunken." Peruggia was 1m61 (5'3") with a brown moustache.

The "Saut de Loup"outside the Louvre where the knob was found

THEFT OF THE MONA LISA - A CLUE

2010-08-24T07:28:00.000-07:00

On this day in 1911, newspapers ran this headline:

Police have Clues

On the day of the theft - Monday, August 21 - a man was spotted walking outside the Louvre about 7:30 am carrying a large panel wrapped in a cloth.

Subsequently, a police official said that he saw a tall stout individual who appeared agitated, carrying a large panel covered with a horse blanket. The man jumped on the 7:47 express for Bordeaux as it was pulling out of the Quai d’Orsay station.

The first sighting was Peruggia. The second wasn't. Peruggia didn't get on a train. He got on a bus to go back to his room 2 miles from the Louvre. But it was the wrong bus, so he jumped off and took a cab. He got home, stashed the painting in his room and then ran to work -- two hours late. He told his boss he was late because he had been drinking the night before.

I recreated Peruggia's walk for a Canadian TV show - Museum Discoveries. (Except he didn't have the Mona Lisa quite as exposed)

THEFT OF THE MONA DAY - DAY 3 -AUGUST 23, 1911

2010-08-23T08:45:00.000-07:00

On this day 99 years ago, the news broke in the New York Times and other morning papers in America that the Mona Lisa was missing. Although she is an icon and an extremely well-known face today, she wasn't as well known in 1911. In fact, above is the picture that the Washington Post said was the Mona Lisa. This is the Monna Vanna, one of the many nude copies of the Mona Lisa. A few days later, the Post corrected their mistake.

The Theft of the Mona Lisa: DAY 2- August 22, 1911

2010-08-22T08:23:00.000-07:00

At 11 am, the Mona Lisa's empty frame was found on a service staircase. At 12:30, Georges Benedite, the curator in charge who was home having lunch was told "The Mona Lisa is no longer in her frame." He went to the police. Later that afternoon 60 detectives arrived to search the museum. Watch the video to find out what museum visitors were told about why the museum was closing early.

The 99th ANNIVERSARY of the THEFT

2010-08-21T15:03:00.000-07:00

On this day in 1911, at 7:15 am, Vincenzo Peruggia walked into the Louvre and walked out with the Mona Lisa. No one noticed it was missing until 11 am the next day!

We'll be posting the Mona Lisa fact of the day every day until the 100th anniversary of the theft

Treasures of the World - Theft of the Mona Lisa & Guernica: Testimony of War The Theft of the Mona Lisa (Quest Books)The Theft of the Mona Lisa (Quest Books)Gioconda: The Theft of Mona Lisa

SPOT THE MISTAKE

2010-06-30T08:37:00.000-07:00

THE CRYSTAL STOPPER: AN ARSENE LUPINE MYSTERYHere's another clip from Arsene Lupin that features a glaring mistake. Can you spot it?

ARSENE LUPIN STRIKES AGAIN

2010-06-28T16:37:00.000-07:00

In 1932, John and Lionel Barrymore starred in Arsene Lupin, a film about the French master criminal. (Drew Barrymore is John's granddaughter) In the climax of the film, Lupin steals the Mona Lisa. Here's a clip

MONA LISA 3D

2010-06-27T10:14:00.000-07:00

The gentleman in the picture with my wife Justine and myself is Pascal Cotte. We had the pleasure of meeting him while we were in Paris last month. Pascal is the noted engineer and founder of Lumiere Technology. He invented a revolutionary camera that was able to take remarkable, startling pictures of the Mona Lisa. Using multispectral digitization, he revealed the true colors of the painting -- what they think it actually looked liked when Leonardo painted it. Pascal was also able to look beneath the surface to find hidden details and some changes that Leonardo made to the picture. (Leonardo had changed the position of her hands).

From his 3D analysis, Pascal was able to make an actual replica of the masterpiece -- front and back.

While we were there we searched the photos he took of Mona Lisa to find the minor damage that occured when Peruggia had her -- a slight abrasion on her cheek and a scratch on her left shoulder. We think we may have found them.

Check out Pascal's video about the process. He kindly let us use it in our film and our blog.

Pascal's discoveries are the subject of a documentary - Secrets of the Mona Lisa Revealed by filmmaker Caroline Cocciardi. Thanks to Caroline we were able to meet and talk with Pascal in his laboratory in Paris.

HOW DID THE MONA LISA GET SO FAMOUS?

2010-06-26T09:28:00.001-07:00

Here's what Darian Leader, author of "Stealing the Mona Lisa," had to say....

BECOME PART OF MONA LISA'S HISTORY

2010-06-25T14:42:00.000-07:00

Vincenzo Peruggia became a part of the Mona Lisa’s story when he stole her in 1911. And now you can become part of it too by making a small donation to this project. We need funds to purchase the rights to archival images and video as well as money to hire graphic artists and other people to help us finish the film. By being a donor to this project, you will receive a thanks in the credits. Your name will be forever linked to the first feature length film to tell the true story of this remarkable event.

Contributions are made through our fiscal sponsor, the Greater Philadelphia Film Office and may be tax deductible. A simple click will do it!

TWO YEARS-REALLY?

2010-05-13T13:40:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting in the Air France Lounge waiting for our flight to Paris. I've been invited by a Canadian production company to do a small segment in a TV show about he theft of the Mona Lisa. I'll be talking about the theft and carrying a replica of the painting through the streets of Paris. Obviously these guys have never seen me act. Cutting room floor here I come.

But we're taking opportunity of flying to Paris to do more shooting on the film - 3 key interviews that we've been trying to get for 2 years just fell into our lap. Two experts on the ML and an official from the Louvre.

Everyone always asks me when the film's going to be finished. It needs to be finished this year. I did a very rough cut of it -- it's like 5 1/2 hours long. Too much stuff.

For the past week, I've been going back and working on the first 30 minutes. I hope to have that part together in a couple of weeks. After that, I'll pare down the rest. I'm shooting for a tight 2 hour cut by August.

It occured to me on the way to the airport that it's been two years since I started filming this doc. In fact, we made our first trip to see Celestina Peruggia two years ago this month. Those two years went by in a blink.

AMLETO PERUGGIA

2010-04-13T15:38:00.000-07:00

Just learned the sad news that the Amleto Peruggia, the husband of Celestina, Vincenzo's daughter, passed away. We first met him in May 2008. When we returned to Dumenza in October 2008, his health had gone downhill and he was suffering from dementia. Later we heard that he was put into a home. But in the few times we were with him, I found him to be one of the funniest and wittiest men I'd ever met.

When I asked Amleto what it was like to live in the little town of Dumenza, he said, "People in a small town know more about you than you know about yourself."

I hope to have some clips of him in the film. Our condolences to the Peruggia family. I know he will be missed.

MOVING ALONG

2010-03-26T16:47:00.001-07:00

I'm 26:35 into the second act and up to the point where he gets the idea to steal the painting. It'll have to be tightened quite a bit in the next go-round but I'm happy with the progress. I may have my rough done by the end of April! If I can get a decent finished cut by June, I may make the deadline for the Venice Film Festival.

Editing Act II

2010-03-24T12:37:00.000-07:00

I'm 18:14 into the rough cut of Act 2. I've already cut out 80% of the information I have -- and I'm still not up to the part where he steals the painting. I guess this is why it's called a rough cut.

Another Comment from my Chinese friend

2010-03-24T12:36:00.001-07:00

Goggle translated it says: To continuously update go yo!! I wish you a happy mood

Thanks for the comment, Chinese Porn Meister

2010-03-20T13:25:00.000-07:00

I was thrilled to see that my last two blog entries each had a comment from someone in China. I know that the Chinese and Japanese are huge Mona Lisa fans. So I google translated them.

It's a link to porn. They don't care about the doc. They just want me to link to hot naked Asian school girls. I should have suspected when the last comment had English words like "sex" and "live show." Of course, I'm tempted but...

There's no denying sex sells. To give you an example, on youtube, the trailer to my Mona Lisa doc has 1,182 hits. A video I did featuring elephant seals having sex to the soundtrack of The Nutcracker has 665,994 hits.

Maybe I need a sexier title for the film -- The Missing Piece of Ass or something like that.

EDITING

2010-03-07T19:50:00.000-08:00

After shooting, translating, organizing, subtitling, doing a timeline and writing the script, I'm once again editing. This time, finally putting Act 2 in shape. Stay tuned.

The Timeline - 1675 cards

2010-01-23T18:41:00.000-08:00

To make the film I need to know the story. And to know the story I need to have all my information organized chronologically.

I started seriously working on the timeline on december 5. Here it is January 23 and I'm more or less through the thousand or so documents I have from the French archives.

I Google translated quite of bit of them so I get the gist of what's being said. If there was anything critical, I'd send it to my translators Yvette Jordan, Daniel Hachard or Eileen White (French) or Lola Scarpitta, Marco Ferretti or Natalia Sarkissian (Italian)

Putting things in order helped me connect quite a few dots. For example, I actually know now why he picked August 21 as the day to steal the painting. There's a very logical reason. (You'll have to see the film.)

There are now 1675 3x5 cards. Probably will have a few hundred more before I'm through.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

2009-12-24T10:32:00.003-08:00

We want to wish a very happy holiday season to our friends, associates and everyone who has participated in helping us make our film.

We're have come along way since we started in February 2008 and we're hoping to have it completed by the end of 2010!

511 and Counting

2009-12-05T15:21:00.000-08:00

I was poised to start putting together ACT II of the film but that required me to have an accurate timeline of what happened: who knew what when, where Vincenzo Peruggia was and what he doing during the 2 1/2 years he had the painting.

Easy enough. I have plenty of research and sources. Plus I already had a timeline started . But it was hundreds of pages and was becoming unwieldy so I decided to start breaking it down to the old reliable 3x5 cards. Those would be simple to shuffle through and pin up on our big board.

I just finished. So far there are 511 cards and I haven't been through all my source material. I figure that number to at least double - maybe triple.

Here's an example. It's CARD #359. It's what the concierge of his building in Paris said about him:

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 13, 1913 – 1:00 am – PARIS

Mme Duc, the concierge:

I never quite believed he could have stolen the painting from the Louvre, at least that he conceived the project and executed it on his own. They say he did the job for someone else. That would not surprise me at all.

I'll be posting more.

Sacre Blew

2009-11-27T19:47:00.000-08:00

I spent the day translating French from 100-year old newspaper stories about the theft. Do I know French? Only enough to say Je voudrais une crepe au jambon - which means I would like a crepe with ham.

What I did was to type the story out into google translate. It more or less works - 0r enough for me to get the sense of what it is I'm reading about. I was looking mostly for any tidbit on Peruggia's work history. I'm trying to figure out exactly when he came to Paris. I know it was in 1902. He came back again in 1905. And then again in 1908 and stayed. He says he came in 1900 and stayed to 1904 -- so that screws everything up. I'm tired and my butt hurts. It's Friday night. I need to go do something else for a while.

Portraits of Celestina

2009-11-22T15:29:00.000-08:00

This is a short clip of some un-Photoshopped photos of Celestina from 40-days-old up through her marriage to Amletto in her 20s.

Many of these will be used in the film.

Music is by the courtesy of composer/performer Tim Farrell

www.timfarrellmusic.com

http://www.myspace.com/timfarrell

JUST GOT THIS

2009-11-20T10:07:00.000-08:00

Just won a postcard on delcampe.com. It shows the Mona Lisa in the Grande Gallery of the Louvre sometime after its return from being stolen. See how they stepped up security by using a rope and stanchions? Pretty high tech.

A LOST LEONARDO FOUND?

2009-10-14T15:19:00.000-07:00

Leonardo da Vinci painted only a handful of works. They're making a case that a painting thought to be from the 1800s is one of his.

http://www.abcnews.go.com/GMA/Technology/leonardo-da-vinci-painting-found/story?id=8822326

A BLOGGER FOUND US

2009-08-28T14:36:00.000-07:00

I was pleasantly surprised this morning when I came across this blog about the theft of ML and it mentioned us and our doc. Very well written and highly informative. Well worth a look.

http://artoftheprank.com/2009/08/28/literateye-28-the-mona-lisa-theft-mystery-was-there-a-mastermind/

TRYING TO KILL THE VALFIERNO STORY

2009-08-26T17:47:00.000-07:00

This morning I read this post from a blog by a Canadian journalist named Matthew Langley:

http://communities.canada.com/vannet/blogs/evolvinglangley/archive/2009/08/21/column-mona-lisa-overdrive.aspx

He wrote it around the anniversary of the theft. It talks about Peruggia and then recounts the Valfierno, six forged copies story. I wrote to him today and told him what we've found and haven't found about the theft of the Mona Lisa.

He blogged this today:

http://communities.canada.com/vannet/blogs/evolvinglangley/archive/2009/08/27/more-on-mona-lisa.aspx

Thanks, Matthew.

AN UPDATED LINK TO THE LACAYO BLOG

2009-08-25T19:14:00.001-07:00

http://lookingaround.blogs.time.com/2009/08/21/the-missing-piece-theft-of-the-mona-lisa/

The 98th Anniversary of the Theft and a TIME Magazine Blog About It

2009-08-21T07:56:00.000-07:00

Today is the 98th anniversary of Vincenzo Peruggia's theft of the Mona Lisa. In honor of that, TIME magazine critic Richard Lacayo posted a really terrific article about our film "The Missing Piece" in his blog "Looking Around."

http://lookingaround.blogs.time.com/

MISSING PIECE WEBSITE

2009-08-19T21:23:00.000-07:00

Check it out!

http:///monalisamissing.com

THE MISSING PIECE FACEBOOK PAGE IS LIVE

2009-08-12T21:28:00.000-07:00

Check it out. Become a fan. Pass it along to your friends.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Missing-Piece/106683748756

PHILLY TIME LAPSE

2009-08-05T20:55:00.000-07:00

First of all, we want to thank the Residences at Two Liberty Place on 16th and Chestnut Streets in Philadelphia for graciously letting us stay TWICE in a fantastic 2 bedroom condo apartment on the 42nd floor while we were in town filming interviews at Temple University (my alma mater). Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels lives in the building and we actually got to ride in the elevator with him and his wife Heidi and their little dog.

While staying at Two Liberty, I set up my camera and did a time lapse from one of the windows. Check it out.

THANKS, IAN AND GARY

2009-07-28T11:12:00.001-07:00

I want to thank Ian Karr of the IKA Collective in NYC for having his colorist Gary Scarpulla color grade our 5-minute featurette with their amazing Scratch system. We'll be posting our featurette on August 21, the 98th anniversary of the theft of the Mona Lisa.

http://www.ikacollective.com

FILM FESTIVAL ACCEPTANCE

2009-07-24T14:33:00.000-07:00

Just got word that our short doc "The Friends of Independence" was just accepted into the FirstGlance Film Festival Philadelphia which will be held October 22-25, 2009. We did the film for the Friends of Independence Hall National Park. It can be seen here:

http://www.travelistic.com/video/show/8544/Friends-of-Independence

WHY HAS THE THEFT OF THE MONA LISA TAKEN US TO FLORIDA?

2009-07-18T15:35:00.001-07:00

When you get a lead, you follow it -- even if it takes you across the country to sunny, muggy Florida. We're here to do 2 interviews. One with the grandson of a prominent journalist who published two articles in 1915 -- articles in which Peruggia confessed that here WAS someone who convinced him to steal the Mona Lisa and return it to Italy.

The other inteview shall for the moment remain top secret. But it could potentially blow the lid off everything we've know. Stay tuned.

BACK

2009-06-30T16:34:00.000-07:00

In LA. Interviews done. Punching up the trailer.

Who did we interview? Richard Lacayo, the art critic of Time Magazine;

Suzanne Stratton-Pruitt, a leading art historian;

Jeffrey Robinson, an author and the man who did research for Seymour Reit's 1980 book "The Day They Stole the Mona Lisa;

Mary Gibson, a professor who gave us insight into Peruggia's psychiatrist Paolo Amaldi;

Ann Benjamin whose family owns the rights to the Karl Decker story about the theft from the Saturday Evening Post;

Lawrence Roy Stains, a professor at my alma mater Temple University who told us what kind of journalism the Saturday Evening Post practiced;

and Thomas and Dorothy Hoobler, the authors of the recent book on the theft "The Crimes of Paris."

WAITING FOR MY NEXT INTERVIEW

2009-06-19T08:30:00.000-07:00

It's going to be Richard Lacayo from Time Magazine. He recently reviewed the Scotti and Hoobler books about the theft. He also say he Decker story is "baloney" and "garbage." I couldn't agree more.

IN NEW YORK

2009-06-17T16:18:00.000-07:00

At the London Hotel. Our first interview is tomorrow. Justine just told me that I only brought two short sleeve dress shirts. I didn't really pay attention to clothes packing. I was too sidetracked trying to finish a cut of the trailer and get all my gear together. So I guess I'll be doing some clothes shopping.

I've only been here an hour and already it's cost me $30 in tips. A bellman brought a tray with chocolates, nuts, popcorn and a bottle of water. I think he said it was complementary. Well, I'll know when we look at the bil for checkout.

OFF TO NEW YORK

2009-06-16T12:18:00.000-07:00

We have 6 interviews to do in NYC. We'll keep you posted.

A TITLE CHANGE

2009-06-13T08:16:00.000-07:00

You may notice that the title of this blog has been changed from "The Missing Piece" to "A Missing Piece." It's an experiment because I recently read that if you want your documentary to be easily found on I Tunes, it should start with "A" -- it's the old alphabetical thing. But I'm not doing it just for that reason. The more I investigate, the more I realize that there are so many missing pieces to this story. We've found quite a few but I don't think we'll ever find them all. The story is nearly 100-years old and there are so many documents that are missing or destroyed, (See the missing piece from one of Peruggia's letters) I'm afraid in the end, there will still be a missing piece. Hence the title.

THE TALE OF THE TRAILER

2009-06-10T14:15:00.000-07:00

The long worked-on trailer is closer to completion. I have a 4:27 cut which I'm fairly happy with. Now comes the grunt work of adding graphics, archival photos (like the 1911 Mona Lisa postcards above), mixing, color correcting -- all the time consuming but necessary stuff.

Welcome to Lola Scarpitta

2009-06-01T20:26:00.001-07:00

We're happy to say that we've made the acquaintance of artist Lola Scarpitta who is a native Italian speaker and is helping us translate our film. Here is her bio and a link to her website. Check it out!

www.lolascarpitta.com

ONE YEAR SINCE WE STARTED FILMING

2009-05-24T18:13:00.000-07:00

A year ago we were in Italy. We met Celestina for the first time and we learned that she wanted to know the truth about her father. For the last year, the Mona Lisa team has been working day and night to find it.

GOING TO THE GETTY

2009-05-19T09:13:00.000-07:00

Michel Menu who in 2004 thoroughly examined the Mona Lisa is giving a lecture tonight at the Getty. We'll be there.

http://www.getty.edu/visit/events/menu_lecture.html

A MONA LISA PLAY

2009-05-14T20:50:00.001-07:00

Yep, there's more Mona Lisa news out there. Stumbled on this review in the Washington Post of a play called "The Woman Who Amuses Herself" by playwright Victor Lodato. It's being performed this week in DC. I contacted Victor and hope to speak with him this weekend. Check out the review and if you're in the DC area, go see it.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/12/AR2009051203362.html

(It's halfway down the page under the heading "Mona Lisa on his Mind.")

2 REVIEWS WORTH READING

2009-05-12T19:35:00.000-07:00

OK, I've let you know that two books about the Mona Lisa theft are out -- R.A. Scotti's "The Vanished Smile" and Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler's "The Crimes of Paris."

Here are the links for two really good reviews of these latest Peruggia-related books: one from Mary Jo Murphy of the New York Times who reviews the Scotti book:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/10/books/review/Murphy-t.html?_r=1

and the other from Richard Lacayo of Time Magazine who reviews both Scotti and Hoobler

http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1894006,00.html

Today, I had the pleasure of speaking with both Richard Lacayo of Time and Mary Jo Murphy of the NY Times. The exciting thing for me is that they knew about our film. Richard had seen the article on us in ArtNews (http://www.artnewsonline.com/issues/article.asp?art_id=2604)

and Mary Jo found us through this blog.

WE'VE BEEN BLOGGED (AGAIN)

2009-05-02T16:13:00.000-07:00

Sneakpeak and Hollywood North have published a blog on the film. Check it out.

http://www.sneakpeek.ca/2009/05/doc-to-reveal-truth-about-man-who-stole.html

http://www.hollywoodnorthreport.com/article.php?Article=7122

A FICTIONAL MONA LISA MOVIE

2009-04-29T06:57:00.001-07:00

This has been on my radar for quite some time. I contacted them last year to see if I could interview someone or at least offer technical assistance. I emailed them today and will be calling later. Let's see where it goes. Various films on the Reit book have been in the works since 1980 and nothing's ever come of it. Will this one fare better?

The Missing Piece: Vincenzo Peruggia and the Unthinkable Theft of the Mona Lisa

THE NPR INTERVIEW

NEW STORY ABOUT THEFT ON THE MORTON REPORT

Who was the real mastermind behind the theft of the Mona Lisa?

OUR NEW TRAILER

CELESTINA PERUGGIA 1924 - 2011

THE LATEST FROM AN AUTHOR WE INTERVIEWED

THE WOODEN TRUNK

WE GOT A GRANT

Mona Christmas and a Happy Louvre Year

I know what the numbers and letters in Mona Lisa's eyes say...

DEADLINE DECEMBER 17

MUSEUM SECRETS DEBUTS JANUARY 6

1911 JOKE OF THE DAY

IN THE CLOSET

LOOKING AT NOTHING BUT NOTHING

PERUGGIA'S STREET THEN AND NOW

DID THE MONA LISA IN ITS FRAME WEIGH 200 POUNDS?

WHAT DID PEOPLE LOOK LIKE WHEN PERUGGIA WAS ALIVE?

ODE TO MISSING MONA

THE MISSING PIECE GETS A GRANT

CONSPIRACY THEORIES IN 1911?

WOULD THIS HAVE HELPED THE MONA LISA?

CELESTINA NEVER KNEW HER FATHER HAD STOLEN THE MONA LISA

WHAT'S THE MONA LISA DOING IN LONDON?

WHAT'S THE MONA LISA DOING TODAY?

WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK WITH OUR BLOG AFTER THIS COMMERCIAL MESSAGE...

WHERE'S MONA LISA TODAY?

WHERE'S MONA LISA TODAY?

LIVE FROM NEW YORK...

WHERE IS THE MONA LISA TODAY?

WHERE IS THE MONA LISA TODAY?

A POSTCARD FROM VINCENZO PERUGGIA

I THINK BETTER NAMES WOULD BE RUFFAEL AND MUTTISE

IS BERTHE THE BEST MONA LISA?

WOULD ANGELINA JOLIE HAVE DONE THIS?

WHO'S THE MONA MOSTA? AND THE MONA LEASTA?

KAFKA, MONA LISA AND THE MOVIES

DID THE NAPOLEON OF CRIME STEAL THE MONA LISA?

REWARDS... BUT NO TAKERS

WHY WAS PABLO PICASSO QUESTIONED IN THE MONA LISA INVESTIGATION?

MONA LISA IN LA?

A CARTOONIST'S DELIGHT

HOW COULD PERUGGIA DIE IN 1947 WHEN HE HAD ALREADY BEEN DEAD FOR NEARLY 22 YEARS?

RECREATING THE THIEF'S ROUTE

A BOOM IN MONA LISA POSTCARDS

THE MONA LISA JOKES START ROLLING IN

AN AMERICAN DID IT

WERE THESE FACES REALLY WORTH MORE THAN THE MONA LISA?

THE DAY EVERYONE CAME TO STARE AT A BLANK SPOT ON THE WALL

IF SHE HAD BEEN STOLEN IN THE 1980s, HER FACE WOULD HAVE BEEN ON A MILK CARTON

THE LOUVRE GOES TO THE DOGS

DID THE CURSE OF KING TUT'S TOMB KILL THIS LOUVRE ADMINISTRATOR?

POLICE FIND A DOORKNOB

THEFT OF THE MONA LISA - A CLUE

THEFT OF THE MONA DAY - DAY 3 -AUGUST 23, 1911

The Theft of the Mona Lisa: DAY 2- August 22, 1911

The 99th ANNIVERSARY of the THEFT

SPOT THE MISTAKE

ARSENE LUPIN STRIKES AGAIN

MONA LISA 3D

HOW DID THE MONA LISA GET SO FAMOUS?

BECOME PART OF MONA LISA'S HISTORY

TWO YEARS-REALLY?

AMLETO PERUGGIA

MOVING ALONG

Editing Act II

Another Comment from my Chinese friend

Thanks for the comment, Chinese Porn Meister

EDITING

The Timeline - 1675 cards

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

511 and Counting

Sacre Blew

Portraits of Celestina

MORE INFO ABOUT THE POSTCARD

JUST GOT THIS

A LOST LEONARDO FOUND?

A BLOGGER FOUND US

TRYING TO KILL THE VALFIERNO STORY