Part 4, Chapter 13

Immediately following the theft, everyone had a theory about who stole the painting and why: Rogue employees, two German painters, the German government, the French government, the Louvre itself. Newspapers questioned fortune tellers and clairvoyants, who provided endless contradictory answers. From their clues, ships and trains were searched, but no Mona Lisa emerged. No one could escape Mona Lisa theories, not even two swimmers, who found a message in a bottle claiming the painting had been cast into the sea.

Part 4, Chapter 13 Summary: “A Few Very Sensible Theories”

Part 4, Chapter 14

<a data-internal-link data-link-type="Index of Terms" href="https://www.supersummary.com/the-mona-lisa-vanishes/index-of-terms/#652964">Forensic science</a> was a fairly new technology in 1911. Previously, the police were charged with maintaining order, not solving crimes. Now, thanks partly to <a data-internal-link data-link-type="Character" href="https://www.supersummary.com/the-mona-lisa-vanishes/key-figures/#652952">Louis Lépine</a>, the police were learning how to conduct police work. Lépine partnered with forensics science pioneer <a data-internal-link data-link-type="Character" href="https://www.supersummary.com/the-mona-lisa-vanishes/key-figures/#652953">Alphonse Bertillon</a>. Together, they made a “superhero duo of early criminology” (63), but they had flaws. Now a crime scene, the Louvre remained closed and occupied by the police. The Mona Lisa’s theft “was a national embarrassment” (64). During the search, the theft itself became art. The investigation revealed that security was careless and unsystematic. Everything might be either suspicious or normal, but it was difficult to know which.

Part 4, Chapter 14 Summary: “The Louvre Is a Crime Scene”

Part 4, Chapter 15

Part 4, Chapter 15 Summary: “The Man With the Wrong Name”

Part 4, Chapter 16

Part 4, Chapter 16 Summary: “It Takes a Thief to Catch a Thief”

Part 4, Chapter 17

Part 4, Chapter 17 Summary: “A Break in the Case”

Part 5, Chapter 18

Part 5, Chapter 18 Summary: “Florence, 1481”

Part 5, Chapter 19

Part 5, Chapter 19 Summary: “Milan, 1493”

Part 6, Chapter 20

Part 6, Chapter 20 Summary: “The Louvre Reopens”

Part 6, Chapter 21

Part 6, Chapter 21 Summary: “The Ingenious Thief”

Parts 4-6

Parts 4-6 Analysis

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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”

Parts 1-3

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”

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 4-6Chapter Summaries & Analyses

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”

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