- Hardcover: 256 pages
- Publisher: Knopf Publishing Group; 1st Edition edition (7 April 2009)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0307265803
- ISBN-13: 978-0307265807
- Product Dimensions: 14.7 x 2.8 x 23.6 cm
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,275,971 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Product Description
In Paris at the start of a radically new century, the most famous face in the history of art stepped out of her frame and into a sensational mystery.
On August 21, 1911, the unfathomable happened—Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa vanished from the Louvre. More than twenty-four hours passed before museum officials realized she was gone. The prime suspects were as shocking as the crime: Pablo Picasso and Guillaume Apollinaire, young provocateurs of a new art. As French detectives using the latest methods of criminology, including fingerprinting, tried to trace the thieves, a burgeoning international media hyped news of the heist.
No story captured the imagination of the world quite like this one. Thousands flocked to the Louvre to see the empty space where the painting had hung. They mourned as if Mona Lisa were a lost loved one, left flowers and notes, and set new attendance records. For more than two years, Mona Lisa’s absence haunted the art world, provoking the question: Was she lost forever? A century later, questions still linger.
Part love story, part mystery, Vanished Smile reopens the case of the most audacious and perplexing art theft ever committed. R. A. Scotti’s riveting, ingeniously realized account is itself a masterly portrait of a world in transition. Combining her skills as a historian and a novelist, Scotti turns the tantalizing clues into a story of the painting’s transformation into the most familiar and lasting icon of all time.
On August 21, 1911, the unfathomable happened—Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa vanished from the Louvre. More than twenty-four hours passed before museum officials realized she was gone. The prime suspects were as shocking as the crime: Pablo Picasso and Guillaume Apollinaire, young provocateurs of a new art. As French detectives using the latest methods of criminology, including fingerprinting, tried to trace the thieves, a burgeoning international media hyped news of the heist.
No story captured the imagination of the world quite like this one. Thousands flocked to the Louvre to see the empty space where the painting had hung. They mourned as if Mona Lisa were a lost loved one, left flowers and notes, and set new attendance records. For more than two years, Mona Lisa’s absence haunted the art world, provoking the question: Was she lost forever? A century later, questions still linger.
Part love story, part mystery, Vanished Smile reopens the case of the most audacious and perplexing art theft ever committed. R. A. Scotti’s riveting, ingeniously realized account is itself a masterly portrait of a world in transition. Combining her skills as a historian and a novelist, Scotti turns the tantalizing clues into a story of the painting’s transformation into the most familiar and lasting icon of all time.
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63 reviews
28 of 31 people found the following review helpful
Verve and intrigue
4 April 2009
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
"Vanished Smile" by R.A. Scotti is a fascinating account of the theft of Leonardo da Vinci's 'Mona Lisa' from the Musee de Louvre in 1911. A skilled writer who has previously produced both fiction and nonfiction books, Ms. Scotti is true to the historic specificity of the events but tells the tale with the verve and intrigue of a first-rate crime novelist. The result is an engrossing and entertaining read that should appeal to a wide audience, especially all those interested in art, history, or real-life mysteries.
Ms. Scotti leads us through the bizarre sequence of events that surrounded this, the crime of the 20th century. We become acquainted with an array of colorful personalities, from museum curators, petty criminals, forgers, police detectives and famous individuals including Guillaume Apollinaire and Pablo Picasso. We are taken back to a time where we understand how the unfolding drama captivated international audiences and ultimately helped to elevate the Mona Lisa to its present status as the world's most well-known painting.
Sandwiched between her narrative, Ms. Scotti includes an absorbing profile and short history of Leonardo and the Mona Lisa. She discusses the artists' life and times as well as his innovative painting techniques that combined to produce one of the most enduring works of art. The shrewd placement of this excursus in the middle of the text serves to heighten the suspense if not deepen the reader's appreciation of the Mona Lisa as both a brilliant technical achievement and cultural icon.
In the latter part of the book, Ms. Scotti relates how the perpetrator was finally apprehended while suggesting that unknown others may well have been involved in the heist. Ms. Scotti successfully invokes the enduring mystery about the crime, retelling a washed-up journalist's fanciful yarn that suggests there may have been far more to the story than has been generally recognized. As the author recounts how the Mona Lisa was eventualy recovered and later toured the world to great acclaim, she tantalizingly suggests that the full truth surrounding the theft of the Mona Lisa remains as mysterious to us today as her timelessly captivating and enigmatic smile.
I highly recommend this book to everyone.
Ms. Scotti leads us through the bizarre sequence of events that surrounded this, the crime of the 20th century. We become acquainted with an array of colorful personalities, from museum curators, petty criminals, forgers, police detectives and famous individuals including Guillaume Apollinaire and Pablo Picasso. We are taken back to a time where we understand how the unfolding drama captivated international audiences and ultimately helped to elevate the Mona Lisa to its present status as the world's most well-known painting.
Sandwiched between her narrative, Ms. Scotti includes an absorbing profile and short history of Leonardo and the Mona Lisa. She discusses the artists' life and times as well as his innovative painting techniques that combined to produce one of the most enduring works of art. The shrewd placement of this excursus in the middle of the text serves to heighten the suspense if not deepen the reader's appreciation of the Mona Lisa as both a brilliant technical achievement and cultural icon.
In the latter part of the book, Ms. Scotti relates how the perpetrator was finally apprehended while suggesting that unknown others may well have been involved in the heist. Ms. Scotti successfully invokes the enduring mystery about the crime, retelling a washed-up journalist's fanciful yarn that suggests there may have been far more to the story than has been generally recognized. As the author recounts how the Mona Lisa was eventualy recovered and later toured the world to great acclaim, she tantalizingly suggests that the full truth surrounding the theft of the Mona Lisa remains as mysterious to us today as her timelessly captivating and enigmatic smile.
I highly recommend this book to everyone.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
HISTORY MADE FUN--reads like a WHO-DUNNIT!!!
8 April 2009
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
R. A. Scotti makes history FUN! VANISHED SMILE: THE MYSTERIOUS THEFT OF MONA LISA reads like a who-dunnit mystery. She starts with the 1911 theft, then follows along with the investigation as conducted by French officials. Never letting on as to the who as she tells the story of the how. False trails lead to the implication of Pablo Picasso! But, two years later the real thief emerges from the shadows.
I won't spoil the ending for you! R.A. Scotti examines contempory as well as later theories as to the WHY of the theft. Included along the way, you'll find lots of information about the history of the Mona Lisa and her creator, Leonardo da Vinci. All of which makes for a fast paced, interesting jaunt through one of history's little "side-shows."
Perhaps, like me, you'd never heard about "l'Affaire de la Joconde." It's a story worth learning. One of those strange tales that could happen in ONLY real life!
I give VANISHED SMILE by R.A. Scotti FIVE STARS!! Great writing style, a marvelous story, and thought provoking discussion of the possible "unknowns" of the entire case and history of the Mona Lisa. A few illustrations help the story along. As I said, it reads more like a who-dunnit mystery than a non-fiction history book. This is a book that anybody who likes art, Da Vinci, history or mystery could enjoy. Worthwhile, enjoyable reading.
I won't spoil the ending for you! R.A. Scotti examines contempory as well as later theories as to the WHY of the theft. Included along the way, you'll find lots of information about the history of the Mona Lisa and her creator, Leonardo da Vinci. All of which makes for a fast paced, interesting jaunt through one of history's little "side-shows."
Perhaps, like me, you'd never heard about "l'Affaire de la Joconde." It's a story worth learning. One of those strange tales that could happen in ONLY real life!
I give VANISHED SMILE by R.A. Scotti FIVE STARS!! Great writing style, a marvelous story, and thought provoking discussion of the possible "unknowns" of the entire case and history of the Mona Lisa. A few illustrations help the story along. As I said, it reads more like a who-dunnit mystery than a non-fiction history book. This is a book that anybody who likes art, Da Vinci, history or mystery could enjoy. Worthwhile, enjoyable reading.
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Off the Wall
8 April 2009
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
Though the mastermind behind the theft of the Mona Lisa nearly a century ago may never be known, this book is a well written presentation of the event.
It's not often that "page-turner" and "non-fiction" are used together, but this is both. Scotti's style is to tell the story without unnecessary embellishment. It flowed nicely and the pieces of the puzzle fit together well.
She provides a needed sketch of da Vinci plus the birth and development of the Mona Lisa. She also gives us a fascinating look at the four hundred years of the painting's travels and travails leading up to the theft; as well as its last hundred years' journies.
This book held my attention throughout, and though it is not a long book but it was long enough to treat the story in sufficient detail. This was certainly entertaining and I highly recommend it.
It's not often that "page-turner" and "non-fiction" are used together, but this is both. Scotti's style is to tell the story without unnecessary embellishment. It flowed nicely and the pieces of the puzzle fit together well.
She provides a needed sketch of da Vinci plus the birth and development of the Mona Lisa. She also gives us a fascinating look at the four hundred years of the painting's travels and travails leading up to the theft; as well as its last hundred years' journies.
This book held my attention throughout, and though it is not a long book but it was long enough to treat the story in sufficient detail. This was certainly entertaining and I highly recommend it.
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