From Theft and Acid to Bombing and Fire: Six Iconic Paintings That Endured Catastrophe
Remarkable Western artworks have endured incredible challenges. The Mona Lisa, taken by Vincenzo Peruggia in 1911, was found in 1913 after being absent for more than two years. In 1956, it suffered damage from a stone and acid. Leonardo's The Last Supper withstood the Allied bombing of Milan in 1943. A fire at the Museum of Modern Art on April 15, 1958, resulted in the destruction of two Monet works and Jackson Pollock's Number 1, 1948. Rembrandt's The Night Watch has survived numerous assaults, including knife attacks in 1911 and 1975, and acid in 1990. Edvard Munch's The Scream was stolen twice, in 1994 and 2004, and returned in 2006 with a stain. Vincent van Gogh's The Painter on the Road to Tarascon is presumed lost following a fire in 1945.
Key facts
- The Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre in 1911 by Vincenzo Peruggia and recovered in 1913.
- In 1956, the Mona Lisa was hit by a stone and also sprayed with acid.
- The Last Supper survived Allied bombing in 1943 in Milan.
- A fire at MoMA on April 15, 1958, destroyed two Monet Water Lilies panels and a Jackson Pollock painting; one Monet panel was destroyed by firefighters.
- The Night Watch was slashed in 1911 and 1975, and sprayed with acid in 1990.
- The Scream was stolen in 1994 and 2004, both times recovered.
- Van Gogh's The Painter on the Road to Tarascon was lost in a 1945 fire in a salt mine during WWII.
- No known color photograph of The Painter on the Road to Tarascon survives.
- MoMA created its Conservation Department in 1958 after the fire.
Entities
Artists
- Leonardo da Vinci
- Claude Monet
- Rembrandt van Rijn
- Rembrandt
- Edvard Munch
- Vincent van Gogh
- Jackson Pollock
- Vincenzo Peruggia
Institutions
- Louvre
- Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie
- Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)
- National Gallery of Norway
- Munch Museum
- Rijksmuseum
- Kaiser-Friedrich Museum
Locations
- Paris
- France
- Florence
- Italy
- Milan
- New York
- United States
- Oslo
- Norway
- Magdeburg
- Germany
- Arles
- Tarascon
Sources
- Arteref —