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On Sunday at the Louvre Museum, a man dressed as an older woman in a wheelchair hurled a piece of cake at the glass shielding the Mona Lisa and, while screaming, urged visitors to think about planet Earth.
A man dressed as an older woman in a wheelchair sprung to his feet and hurled cake at the famous picture, frightening bystanders. He allegedly tried to pierce the bulletproof glass surrounding Leonardo da Vinci's work at the Louvre Museum.
He said:
“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.”
The cake attack left a visible white creamy mark on the glass, but Leonardo da Vinci's famed painting remained unscathed.
The attacker pretended to be an elderly lady and rode through the museum in a wheelchair before committing the attack, according to eyewitnesses. It's still unclear what the man's motivation was or how he managed to sneak the cake into the museum.
Mona Lisa's safety behind the bulletproof glass
The renowned Mona Lisa smile is now a tad clearer at the Louver in Paris. The museum has installed new bullet-proof glass to safeguard one of the world's most renowned paintings.
After being vandalized by a visitor who poured acid on the picture by Leonardo da Vinci, it was placed behind the safety glass in the early 1950s.
According to Vincent Delieuvin, the Louvre's head curator of 16th-century Italian art, glass technology has advanced in recent years. At the same time, it provides a better viewing experience for visitors.
Thanks to the new bullet-proof glass, the Leonardo da Vinci painting appears closer than ever.
Previous attempts of vandalism on the Mona Lisa
This artwork is one of the most well-known in art history, and it has been subjected to a considerable amount of vandalism during its lifetime. Leonardo's painting, completed in 1503, has been attacked four times, including twice in the same year.
The painting was stolen by a museum employee in 1911, which increased its international fame.
It was also damaged in an acid attack in the 1950s and is now kept behind glass.
A Russian woman who was upset about not being able to obtain French citizenship threw a ceramic cup at it in 2009, smashing the cup but not the glass or the painting.
