Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa was always revered but never more than after its notorious theft from the Louvre. The thief, Vincenzo Peruggia, worked as a handyman at the museum. On Aug. 21, 1911, he wrapped the painting in a blanket and walked out of the museum during the early morning. It's hard to believe, but the theft wasn't discovered for several hours. The painting was missing for two years before its return to the museum.
What was Peruggia's intent? And what happened during those two years? Even today, some art historians wonder if the painting now in the Louvre is a fake since many copies were created after the theft and sold as the original.
"The Last Mona Lisa" by Jonathan Santlofer presents two mysteries, past and present, both many-layered. The past is Peruggia, his motives and life in Paris. The present-day story involves Peruggia's fictional great-grandson, Luke Perrone. He teaches art history at a New York university and becomes obsessed with his ancestor's role in the famous theft. When Luke is contacted by an art professor from Florence who claims to have discovered Peruggia's journals, he takes a leave of absence, flies to Italy and begins research at the Laurentian Library where the journals are said to reside among thousands of archival papers. In his search, he learns about his great-grandfather's financial problems, his beloved wife's illness, and the forgers and criminals eager to partake in the spoils of the theft. After the disturbing death of his original source and the murders of several people connected to his search, Luke realizes he's not the only one looking for clues. There's an Interpol agent, an intriguing woman also doing research in the library and some Russian mobsters working on behalf of corrupt collectors. More violence ensues and Luke's life is in danger, but his search continues.
Luke is a complex character, a recovering alcoholic with a background of poverty and family dysfunction, who's hoping his discoveries will earn him academic tenure and a bit of self-respect. His wanderings through the streets of Florence and Paris constitute a mini-travelogue as he views architectural beauty everywhere about him, from buildings and churches to bridges and towers. He ruminates about the artists who created such beauty and how art affected their lives. For example, da Vinci needed money, an everyday concern, at the time he took a commission to paint Lisa del Gioconda, the wife of a silk merchant and the subject of the painting now known as the Mona Lisa.
Full of suspense and thrills, the story doesn't disappoint as a mystery and a kind of alternate history. It's also a contemplation by Luke about what makes a piece of art valuable, and what it is about the Mona Lisa, this small painting, that still continues to fascinate, its appeal never declining.
The author is a well-known artist himself and the recipient of many awards for his novels. He brings his knowledge of the art world to the story: the fascination with art heists (even Picasso was questioned about the Mona Lisa theft), what happens to stolen artworks, the underground of collectors and dealers throughout the world, and the nature of the obsessions that contribute to acquiring important art.
There's even a shocker of an ending.
Madeline Matson is the reference and adult programming librarian at the Missouri River Regional Library.