The most high-profile art thefts in history: how the Mona Lisa and the two-ton sculpture disappeared

Sunday's robbery at the Louvre on October 19, 2025, once again reminded the world of how vulnerable even the most famous museums and their collections are. This event was an occasion to recall other high-profile thefts of works of art that shocked the public in different countries and in different eras. About the most notorious thefts in the art world — in the material of Izvestia.

Theft at the Louvre on October 19, 2025

On Sunday, a daring robbery took place at the Louvre Museum in Paris, which shocked the art world. Four armed robbers in masks entered the Apollo Gallery around 9:30 a.m. They smashed jewelry cases and stole eight unique items in seven minutes, including crowns, necklaces and brooches belonging to Empress Eugenie and Queen Marie-Amélie.

One of the items, the crown of Emperor Napoleon III's wife Eugenie, was found nearby, damaged. However, the famous Regent diamond, worth $60 million, remained untouched.

French President Emmanuel Macron condemned the theft as an attack on national heritage and promised to return the stolen items and punish the perpetrators.

The authorities are considering the possibility of organized crime involvement and are conducting an investigation, including video analysis and fingerprinting. The museum was closed for the day, and authorities promised to strengthen security measures as part of the planned renovation.

How the Mona Lisa disappeared

One of the most famous cases of art theft is the disappearance of the Mona Lisa from the Louvre in 1911. Italian glazier Vincenzo Perugia, who worked at the museum, hid the painting under his clothes and took it out of the building.

He claimed that he stole the masterpiece out of patriotic motives, wanting to return it to Italy, believing that Napoleon stole it from the Italian people. However, historians point out that Napoleon had nothing to do with the purchase of the painting, as Leonardo da Vinci himself sold it to French King Francis I two centuries before Napoleon.

Perugia kept the painting in his apartment for two years until he tried to sell it in Italy. In 1913, he was arrested, and the Mona Lisa returned to the Louvre. This case drew attention to the safety of museums.

How the Gardiner Museum was robbed in Boston

On March 18, 1990, one of the most audacious robberies in the history of art took place at the Isabella Stewart Gardiner Museum in Boston. Two men disguised as police officers entered the museum, tied up the guards and stole 13 works of art, including paintings by Jan Vermeer, Rembrandt, Edouard Manet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Edgar Degas. The total value of the stolen works of art is estimated at more than $500 million, making this the largest heist in U.S. history.

Despite numerous investigations, none of the works have been found. The FBI believes that the Boston mafia was involved in the robbery, in particular, James Whitey Bolger and his accomplices. However, there is still no direct evidence of their involvement, and the case remains unsolved. The museum still displays empty frames on the walls, reminding visitors of the missing masterpieces.

How Henry Moore's "Recumbent Figures" were Stolen

In December 2005, the bronze sculpture Reclining Figure was stolen from the estate of sculptor Henry Moore in Hertfordshire. Weighing about 2 tons and over 2 meters high, it was considered a national treasure of Great Britain. According to police, the sculpture was melted down shortly after the theft.

The theft of the Kuindzhi painting from the Tretyakov Gallery

On January 27, 2019, Arkhip Kuindzhi's painting "Ai-Petri. Crimea". The suspect, Igor Chuprikov, was detained the next day, and the painting was found at a construction site in Odintsovo district of Moscow region. Chuprikov stated that he wanted to "try to steal the painting," and had no intention of selling it.

This incident led to a review of security systems in Russian museums. The painting was damaged during transportation, but returned to the museum after restoration.