By: Annie Huang

On Sunday, May 30th, 2022, in the Louvre Museum located in Paris, a 36-year-old man disguised as an elderly woman in a wheelchair threw a piece of cake at the Mona Lisa painting.

The painting of Mona Lisa is a painting, painted by Leonardo da Vinci between 1503 and 1519.

After this incident, videos circulated on social media showing security guards at the Museum escorting the man away on Sunday as he spoke in French claiming he threw the cake at Mona Lisa for the planet.

According to an NPR article, the man stated, “Think of the Earth! There are people who are destroying the Earth! Think about it. Artists tell you: think of the Earth. That’s why I did this.”

He was detained and sent to a psychiatric unit after the incident.

Later, another video popped up on social media showing someone clearing off the cake from the glass protecting the painting of the Mona Lisa.

Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time a fragile painting had been ruined. Luckily, the protective glass was put up after it was damaged in an acid attack during the 1950s and protects the paintings.

In 1911, The Mona Lisa painting disappeared from the Louvre Museum. For two or more years, no one was able to find hints or the painting until someone tried to sell the painting online to an Italian art dealer, who informed authorities.

The famous painting of the Mona Lisa was recovered and put back into the largest room in Louvre where it is stored and protected from further incidents.

“So the Mona Lisa was recovered — and her fame was all the greater,” the Louvre says on its website.

Link: https://s3.amazonaws.com/appforest_uf/f1655670252325x697872460649771000/Man%20detained%20after%20throwing%20cake%20at%20Mona%20Lisa%20_%20NPR.pdf