“Unlocking the Enigma: Discover the Hidden Mysteries Behind the Mona Lisa’s Smile”
Perugia was then able to leave the museum altogether when the guard at the main entrance briefly left his post to get a bucket of water to use to clean the lobby. Once outside, Perugia tossed aside the doorknob, which was later found by police, and went home.
Smart enough not to leave Paris with the painting while the heat was on, Perugia waited 28 months to bring it back to Italy, ultimately making that trip with the painting stored in the hidden compartment in his trunk.
Despite strong suspicions that he must have had help, Perugia maintained that he worked alone and only wanted to return the Mona Lisa to her rightful home in Italy.
He seemed to be under the mistaken impression that the painting had been stolen and taken to France by Napoleon. In fact, as previously noted, da Vinci himself brought it with him to the French court a couple hundred years before Napoleon, with his assistant seemingly eventually selling it to King Francis I. After the revolution, the painting became the property of the new government.
While the general public in Italy seemed to eat up the patriotic angle to the story, with some proclaiming Perugia a hero, the presiding judge wasn’t buying it. For example, consider this exchange:
Judge: Is it true. that you tried to sell the Mona Lisa in England?
Perugia: Me? I offered to sell the Mona Lisa to the English? Who says so? It’s false!
Judge: It is you yourself who said so, during one of your examinations which I have right here in front of me.
Perugia: Duveen didn’t take me seriously. I protest against this lie that I would have wanted to sell the painting to London. I wanted to take it back to Italy, and to return it to Italy, and that is what I did.
