Stealing the Famous Mona Lisa, 1911

GFM painting designer Leonardo Da Vinci Mona Lisa

The world most famous painting Mona Lisa byLeonardo Da Vinci was once stolen in 1911. On the 75th anniversary of the Lindbergh kidnapping, TIME looks back at the notorious crimes of the past hundred years. The stealing of the Mona Lisamade the Top 25 Crimes of the Century.

Perhaps the most famous case of art theft occurred on August 21, 1911, when the Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre by employee Vincenzo Peruggia, who was caught after two years.

Mona Lisa, or La Gioconda (La Joconde), is a 16th century oil painting on poplar wood by Leonardo da Vinci, and is one of the most famous paintings in the world. Few works of art have been subject to as much scrutiny, study, mythologizing and parody. It is owned by the French government and hangs in the Musée du Louvre in Paris. The painting, a half-length portrait, depicts a woman whose gaze meets the viewer’s with an expression often described as enigmatic.Leonardo Da Vinci began painting the Mona Lisa in 1502 and, according to Vasari, completed it in four years. Leonardo took the painting from Italy to France in 1516 when King François I invited the painter to work at the Clos Lucé near the king’s castle in Amboise. The King bought the painting for 4,000 écus and kept it at Fontainebleau, where it remained until moved by Louis XIV.