Why have people attacked the Mona Lisa?

Vandalism, iconoclasm, activism and insanity. Art isn't always pretty, because as humans, neither are we. Art is a mirror to ourselves. Some find the reflection disturbing. read more

For some people, not all these reactions will be positive. The Mona Lisa. In many ways, Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa has been seen through the lenses of passions and -isms, the ebb and flow of social and activist movements. Leonardo found patronage with the french King Francois in 1516. read more

The last attack on a work of art at the Louvre was in 1998, when a mathematics professor and calm family man suddenly attacked a statue of the Roman philosopher Seneca with a hammer. The Mona Lisa is the only painting ever to have been stolen from the Louvre, in 1911, and then recovered. read more

Nazi art looters pursued her. Vandals attacked her. Advertisers exploited her. Through five centuries of revolutions, wars, botched restorations and bizarre imitations, Mona Lisa has proven to be more than a mere masterpiece: She's a survivor. Few art works have experienced more adventures -- and misadventures -- in and out of the frame. read more