In 1911, La Joconde suddenly disappears from the Musée du Louvre. This was a great shock to all of Paris. Multiple attempts to offer ransom through newspapers, even agreeing not to ask for identity, did not yield any results.

Months and years passed, and one day in November of 1913 an Italian art dealer receives a letter from Paris with an offer to buy the painting of Mona Lisa. After some negotiation, the art dealer and the robber agreed on a price and met, which is when the authorities captured the thief. During the interrogation, he confessed that he thinks that the Mona Lisa by right belongs to Italy.

The painting was held all this time in the attic of one of the old buildings in Paris. It was well kept and no damage was done to it.