Part 1, Chapter 1

The reader is asked to “imagine a palazzo” (1) in Florence in 1503, then a man and a woman. The man is <a data-internal-link data-link-type="Character" href="https://www.supersummary.com/the-mona-lisa-vanishes/key-figures/#652950">Leonardo da Vinci</a>, who should have been a notary but became a painter. The woman is <a data-internal-link data-link-type="Character" href="https://www.supersummary.com/the-mona-lisa-vanishes/key-figures/#652951">Lisa Gherardini</a>, who married and had children despite coming from a family unable to provide a dowry for her. Her family became prosperous enough to “commission a painting” (1). Sometime after sitting for the portrait, Lisa would watch her city be invaded and destroyed. Later, she would join a convent. Leonardo would flee the city, traveling across Italy and eventually into France. His painting would make Lisa “the most recognizable face in the world” (1). As a painting, she could never die, but she could be kidnapped.

Part 1, Chapter 1 Summary: “The Creation of the Mona Lisa”

Part 1, Chapter 2

On Monday, August 21, 1911, a man in a white smock walked out of the Louvre Museum with the Mona Lisa. The world was changing at “breakneck” speed (7), and new inventions would shape what happened next. The Louvre had been a medieval fortress, then a palace. After the French Revolution, it became a museum. It was cavernous, full of “nooks and crannies” (5). Earlier in 1911, a journalist exposed the museum’s poor security by hiding in the museum overnight.

Part 1, Chapter 2 Summary: “The Theft of the Mona Lisa”

Part 1, Chapter 3

Part 1, Chapter 3 Summary: “The Ludicrous Fame of the Mona Lisa”

Part 2, Chapter 4

Part 2, Chapter 4 Summary: “Monday Morning”

Part 2, Chapter 5

Part 2, Chapter 5 Summary: “Brigadier Paupardin Has a Very Bad Day”

Part 2, Chapter 6

Part 2, Chapter 6 Summary: “It Could Have Been Worse”

Part 2, Chapter 7

Part 2, Chapter 7 Summary: “Louis Lépine Is on the Case”

Part 2, Chapter 8

Part 2, Chapter 8 Summary: “The Very, Very Small Victory of Louis Béroud”

Part 2, Chapter 9

Part 2, Chapter 9 Summary: “Unimaginable”

Part 3, Chapter 10

Part 3, Chapter 10 Summary: “Vinci, April 15, 1452”

Part 3, Chapter 11

Part 3, Chapter 11 Summary: “Florence, 1466”

Part 3, Chapter 12

Part 3, Chapter 12 Summary: “Florence, 1479”

Parts 1-3

Parts 1-3 Analysis

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Life & Time

The Past

The Power & Perils of Fame

Nicholas Day

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Overview

Get ready to explore The Mona Lisa Vanishes and its meaning. Our full analysis and study guide provides an even deeper dive with character analysis and quotes explained to help you discover the complexity and beauty of this book.

The Mona Lisa Vanishes Summary and Study Guide

Background

The Mona Lisa Vanishes Background

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Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 1: “A Star is Born: In Which the Mona Lisa Is Painted, Is Stolen, and Becomes an Absolute Legend” - Part 3: “Tell Me, Tell Me, Tell Me: In Which Leonardo Is Born, Leaves Home, Learns to Paint, and Spends His Time Wondering What the Moon Is Made of”

The Mona Lisa Vanishes Parts 1-3 Summary & Analysis

Part 4: “The Mona Lisa Is Nowhere, the Mona Lisa Is Everywhere: In Which the Mona Lisa Refuses to Show Her Face and the New Science of Policing Goes on Trial” - Part 6: “The Consummate Professional: In Which the Louvre Reopens to Massive Crowds and the Police Go in Search of a Dead Man”

Parts 4-6

The Mona Lisa Vanishes Parts 4-6 Summary & Analysis

Part 7: “Marry or Else: In Which Blood Flows Through Florence’s Streets and the Mona Lisa Almost Slips Through History’s Fingers” - Part 9: “An Improbable Series of Improbable Events: In Which Leonardo Gets a Job and Lisa Gherardini, Against All Odds, Becomes the Mona Lisa”

Parts 7-9

The Mona Lisa Vanishes Parts 7-9 Summary & Analysis

Part 10: “A Wild and Perfect Pair: In Which Louis Lépine Finds an International Gang of Thieves and a Monkey” - Part 13: “The Afterlife: In Which Vincenzo Perugia Opens a Paint Store and Leonardo da Vinci Eats a Bowl of Soup”

The Mona Lisa Vanishes: A Legendary Painter, a Shocking Heist, and the Birth of a Global Celebrity

Parts 1-3Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 1: “A Star is Born: In Which the Mona Lisa Is Painted, Is Stolen, and Becomes an Absolute Legend” - Part 3: “Tell Me, Tell Me, Tell Me: In Which Leonardo Is Born, Leaves Home, Learns to Paint, and Spends His Time Wondering What the Moon Is Made of”

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