Vanished Smile: The Mysterious Theft of Mona Lisa by R.A. Scotti

Feb 12, 2012 Madeline rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: history-nonfiction

"1911 was a year of grand escapades. In the boatyards of Liverpool, a magnificent new ocean liner was under construction. Its builders boasted that it would be 'unsinkable.' In Antarctica, Captain Robert Falcon Scott was trudging across the frozen plateau to the South Pole, the Union Jack folded in his pack, dreaming of making history, and in Paris, a plan was brewing to pinch the most famous painting in the world. Of these three grand escapades, the first seemed assured of success, the second l...more "1911 was a year of grand escapades. In the boatyards of Liverpool, a magnificent new ocean liner was under construction. Its builders boasted that it would be 'unsinkable.' In Antarctica, Captain Robert Falcon Scott was trudging across the frozen plateau to the South Pole, the Union Jack folded in his pack, dreaming of making history, and in Paris, a plan was brewing to pinch the most famous painting in the world. Of these three grand escapades, the first seemed assured of success, the second likely, and the third not only improbable but impossible."

Man, who doesn't love a good heist story? The theft of the Mona Lisa, stolen in 1911 and recovered in 1913, is on par with Ocean's Eleven with its eccentric list of suspects, apparent simplicity hiding complex pre-planning, and a theft that involved a tangled mass of accomplices and complications. The painting vanished practically into thin air one afternoon, leaving the French police scrambling for suspects (some of whom included young Pablo Picasso and Guillame Apollinaire) and going on a worldwide search for the stolen painting. One of the French detectives in charge of the case was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's inspiration for Sherlock Holmes, and used the case to test his theories on fingerprinting in order to solve a case. The entire world, meanwhile, went into straight-up mourning for the lost painting. The eventual culprit was caught, but seemed like such an unlikely criminal mastermind that no one believed he had really done it. Years later, a new story surfaced that revealed the real reasons for the theft, but hang on - even that story might be a lie. Even decades later, experts aren't sure exactly why the Mona Lisa was stolen. There are theories, but nothing has been conclusively proven yet.

If you've never heard that the Mona Lisa was stolen and are seriously intrigued by the story, then RA Scotti's book is a great crash course on the heist. She describes the painting's notoriety pre- and post-theft, goes into detail about the various suspects and their motivations, and discusses the history of the painting itself (such as who Mona Lisa really was and how da Vinci painted the work). The story reads like a Hollywood heist story, and it's a lot of fun. I have only two gripes: first, the story is only 227 pages long, so Scotti doesn't go into as much detail as I'd have liked when she discusses the theories behind the theft; and also, Scotti's narration has a tendency to run towards the melodramatic ("Mona Lisa had been spirited away, leaving no forwarding address.") to the point where I would read a breathlessly dramatic sentence and expect to hear the CSI: Miami theme song start blaring from the pages. Also, in this version the Mona Lisa is basically a character, and Scotti writes like it's a person that's been kidnapped:

"Men had been coming to court her for years, bearing flowers, notes, and poems... She accepted their attentions democratically but gave nothing in return, just the same half-smile. She conferred it on all equally. A promise, a tease, a warning. No man could be sure."

This is a painting Scotti's writing about. A painting. It got annoying, frankly, to keep reading about the Mona Lisa being referred to as "her." It's a painting, Scotti, not a human being. Try to calm down over there.(less)

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Apr 12, 2009 Bill Hall rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: history

“Vanished Smile” is a history of the theft and recovery of the Mona Lisa from the Louvre, but it reads more like a high-quality detective novel. Before reading this book, I had known the bare bones outline of the story—that the world’s most famous painting had been stolen from the wall it had graced for almost a century one day in 1911, and was only recovered after a lengthy absence. Scotti’s narrative fills in the details of a canvas every bit as rich as Leonardo’s own.

The narrative puts us at...more

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Apr 01, 2013 Jahod rated it 4 of 5 stars

The mysterious theft of Mona Lisa was a great book. Mona Lisa meant so much to Paris, she wasn't just some women painted by Leonardo in a painting, she was real and alive to Parisians, even to Americans and Italians. Once Mona Lisa disappeared from the Louvre Museum, no one had a clue about where she had gone. This was so major that three continents were included in the search for her. Soon, rumors started going around that opposing countries had stole it to start a war and that some crazed thie...more

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Jan 16, 2013 Anna Ligtenberg rated it 4 of 5 stars

ISBN 0307265803 - Old and unsolved mysteries have a strange attraction for me, as a reader, and I believe that, while reading Vanished Smile, I've figured out the reason: there's a feeling that, if you read enough, you might be able to solve it from your chair. This makes no sense for two reasons, of course. One, people who solve mysteries for a living haven't been able to solve it. Two, and this is going to surprise some folks, the theft of the Mona Lisa from the Louvre was solved 95 or so year...more ISBN 0307265803 - Old and unsolved mysteries have a strange attraction for me, as a reader, and I believe that, while reading Vanished Smile, I've figured out the reason: there's a feeling that, if you read enough, you might be able to solve it from your chair. This makes no sense for two reasons, of course. One, people who solve mysteries for a living haven't been able to solve it. Two, and this is going to surprise some folks, the theft of the Mona Lisa from the Louvre was solved 95 or so years ago.

In 1911, on a hot August day in Paris, da Vinci's Mona Lisa disappeared. She was there on Sunday and gone by Tuesday and, thanks to some astonishingly lax security, no one could be certain exactly when she'd gone missing. Plenty of people had the opportunity to walk away with her. Several, namely Pablo Picasso and a group of his friends, had even said some things publicly that might be taken as motive. The growing market for artwork in America was scrutinized. All the theories produced no results. As time went by, desperation turned to despair as the world gave up hope that the painting would be returned. Two years later, just as suddenly as she'd gone, Mona Lisa reappeared. Even with the mystery solved, conspiracy theories couldn’t be stopped - even today!

R. A. Scotti's tale covers all the known bases, including most of the obvious conspiracy theories, and brings nothing new to the story, but for those who don't know it yet, this is a very readable telling. Skillfully filling in the reader on the relevant back stories of several of the primary characters, Scotti does a fantastic job of fleshing things out in an entertaining style. There's a strong focus on suspects and too little on the actual perpetrator and on the officials who investigated, which is the only negative, in my opinion.

If you already know this story, Vanished Smile probably isn't going to be your thing. While it's well-written, there's just nothing new to add to the telling, other than the results of several recent high-tech studies done of the painting. The bibliography in the back is a helpful list of recommended reading for anyone who cares to research more.

- AnnaLovesBooks(less)

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Aug 05, 2012 Beatnik Mary rated it 3 of 5 stars

http://www.cozylittlebookjournal.com/...

The theft of the Mona Lisa in 1911 from the Louvre in Paris is a fascinating story. It revealed the shocking lack of security at one of the world's most prominent museums. It amplified the public's hunger for great art and for scandal. It agitated the already heated contemporary debate over what constitutes "great art." It implicated many parties in the scandal, including Pablo Picasso. And it solidified the Mona Lisa's place as the world's most famous pai...more

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Nov 18, 2011 Thomas Paul rated it 4 of 5 stars

It’s 1911. A hot summer’s day in Paris. The guard at the Louvre is asked where the Mona Lisa is by an avid fan of the painting who is working on a copy. The guard replies that he does not know, perhaps it is being photographed. A few hours later with the painting still missing, panic spreads through the Louvre as it is suddenly realized that the master work of Leonardo da Vinci has been stolen. Pablo Picasso would be questioned in the theft and a friend of his arrested. The Mona Lisa would remai...more

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Aug 30, 2011 Tim Knier rated it 4 of 5 stars

On August 21, 1911, a 400-year-old matron absconded from Paris’s art trove, the Louvre. Born within relative obscurity, she had been transported across various state lines. Often belittled within Florence’s Medici confines, certainly a visitor in the bathroom of France’s François I and later celebrated in Louis XIV’s bedroom, she became a near-forgotten hostage, chained on the museum’s wall for nearly one hundred years before being liberated.

R.A. Scotti breathes life into a century-old mystery s...more On August 21, 1911, a 400-year-old matron absconded from Paris’s art trove, the Louvre. Born within relative obscurity, she had been transported across various state lines. Often belittled within Florence’s Medici confines, certainly a visitor in the bathroom of France’s François I and later celebrated in Louis XIV’s bedroom, she became a near-forgotten hostage, chained on the museum’s wall for nearly one hundred years before being liberated.

R.A. Scotti breathes life into a century-old mystery surrounding the theft of Leonardo da Vinci’s celebrated painting of Lisa Gherardini del Giocondo, La Gioconda, or as commonly called, Mona Lisa. Scotti’s breezy style paints a lively discussion of a theft that aroused worldwide furor, exposed the ineffectiveness of museum security and international policing, and prompted bewildering—and as yet unresolved—theories as to the nature of the crime.

Initially, lack of museum security was blamed, which called for the head of its director. Flummoxed due to lack of any obvious clues to the heist, French authorities initially lassoed la band de Picasso, a group of cultural anarchists led by Pablo Picasso and Guillaume Apollinaire. But that resulted in the two being found guilty of harboring the theft of several Louvre antique statues lifted by a kleptomaniac group-member.

In 1913, the Louvre’s Italian glazier, Vincenzo Peruggia, approached a Florentine art dealer to sell the painting that he had kept hidden for two years. Peruggia underwent a sensational trial, but he was released under celebratory relief that the original painting had been retrieved. The Mona Lisa eventually returned to the Louvre.

In 1914 in Casablanca, a scam artist using the moniker Marqués Eduardo de Valiferno disclosed his version of the theft to Hearst reporter Karl Decker. According to Valiferno, he had duped—and paid handsomely—Peruggia and two other Italians to manufacture the actual burglary. The marqués had employed a master forger to replicate six copies to be sold to collectors on the black market, not caring what happened to the original. A question still remains: What ever happened to these half-dozen forgeries if his version were true?

Eighteen years later, Karl Decker reframed and embellished another heist description through an article published in the June 25, 1932 issue of the Saturday Evening Post. Decker’s story was based primarily on information from Valiferno but was exaggerated to the degree that cast considerable doubt upon any account’s accuracy. His article merely stirred the controversy without confirming who or why the theft had been perpetrated.

Today, the Mona Lisa has become the world’s most secured lady; yet questions about her previous larceny remain unanswered. The La Gioconda story remains as mysterious as her smile continues to baffle art aficionados.

A well documented, global discussion with several illustrations, Scotti’s work includes five pages of notes and a five-page bibliography for eager detectives relishing further investigation. Her slim volume is a must-read for any Leonardo fan.(less)

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Aug 15, 2011 Deb rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: history, non-fiction, art, favorites

I once viewed Mona Lisa in the Louvre, or, I should say, I caught a glimpse of her behind her protective glass while craning my neck around the heads of people taller than me. It was there, but how anyone could enjoy the experience of viewing it I cannot imagine. But in 1911 in the Louvre, one could get close enough to enjoy the painting - close enough, in fact, to remove it from the wall if one so chose, particularly when the guard was on a lunch break, or when the museum was closed for cleanin...more

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Feb 10, 2011 Mary Lou rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011

Scotti's discussion of the theft of the Mona Lisa is fascinating because it is so well written and because she presents the suspenseful mystery clearly, getting the complicated details across in entertaining and engrossing prose. Using headlines, excerpts of articles and footnotes, she gives a full description of the painting, the Louvre, the investigation, Leonardo’s work, Europe during the early 20th century, and more.

Some of the interesting facts are: “In 1550 the Florentine artist and author...more Scotti's discussion of the theft of the Mona Lisa is fascinating because it is so well written and because she presents the suspenseful mystery clearly, getting the complicated details across in entertaining and engrossing prose. Using headlines, excerpts of articles and footnotes, she gives a full description of the painting, the Louvre, the investigation, Leonardo’s work, Europe during the early 20th century, and more.

Some of the interesting facts are: “In 1550 the Florentine artist and author Giorgio Vasari christened the painting “Monna Lisa,” which in English translation became Mona Lisa. … he identified the sitter as Lisa del Giocondo, the wife of a wealthy silk merchant in Florence (122), hence the nickname, “La Jaconde.” Picasso denied knowing Apollinaire during the latter’s trial for the theft, breaking up their friendship. Years later he confessed to Gilbert Prouteau, a film director making a documentary about Apollinaire, “I am still ashamed.” Apollinaire is considered among the foremost poets of the early 20th century and credited with coining the term Surrealism.
According to the World English Dictionary, Surrealism is “a movement in art and literature in the 1920s, which developed especially from Dada, characterized by the evocative juxtaposition of incongruous images in order to include unconscious and dream elements.”

“The Louvre is the largest museum in the world and an enormous labyrinth, covering some forty-nine acres. It is three times the size of the Vatican including St. Peter’s Basilica, and its length is equivalent to two Eiffel Towers laid end to end” (42).

While Leonardo’s friend Donato Bramante was building the new Basilica of St. Peter” and his “young challengers were also being called to the Vatican—Michelangelo to sculpt a massive tomb for Pope Julius and later to paint the Sistine ceiling, Raphael to fresco the rooms of the Papal Palace,” Leonardo was painting the young Signora del Giocondo. … Mona Lisa may have been a conscious bid for immortality … Leonardo setting out purposefully to conjure from shadow and light a woman who would exert a fatal attraction over men” (131). The figure “is seen vertically at eye level, but the background is an aerial view” (128). “She sits on a … balcony … her face turned out, creating the arresting impression that she is looking directly at the viewer” (127).

Spoiler alert. Following paragraphs detail the ending.

Just learning that the famous painting was stolen in 19ll and missing for two years is was news to me. Getting the detailed story was even better. Picasso and Guillaume Apollinaire are accused, but acquitted while a disgruntled Italian is found guilty. He may have taken the painting to restore it to its rightful country, and that that story is the whole truth, the cover-up of a brilliant sting in which six copies were made and sold to American millionaire collectors when the original was returned, or that story was made up by enterprising, but unscrupulous journalist Karl Decker, a star reporter for William Randolph Hearst's New York Journal. The “truth” remains a mystery.
(less)

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Mar 25, 2010 Doug Beatty rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: true-crime

I listened to this title on audio, and while I enjoyed some of it, the crime and the resolution of the crime are anti-climatic. We house the book in the true crime section of the library, because the apparent focus of the book is the theft of the Mona Lisa, but the author shares quite a bit of other facts and other bits of history along the way. I now know more about the Mona Lisa than anybody ever really needs to know, and sometimes I felt that the book meandered away from its main focus to cov...more

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Jun 10, 2009 Robyn Hawk rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviews

I picked this book up expecting it to be a bit dry - but - once again R.A. Scotti pulled me into the story as if it were fictionalized.

Very few people who visit the Louvre realize that the Mona Lisa was stolen at one time - people used to come to view the empty space - they were in such disbelief that anyone could commit such a crime!

Vanished Smile is the story of that theft and the involvement of the creative luminaries of that era in the crime!

Although this is a non-fiction accounting of the "...more

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Jun 27, 2012 Brendan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, history-journalism, non-fiction, mystery, audio

In 1911, Scotti tells us, Harland and Wolff was building the biggest ship known to man, Scott was on his way to the South Pole, and the most audacious heist in art history was in the works. By 1913, only one of the three could have been called a success. When the Mona Lisa went missing in 1911, the whole world went into a tizzy. Her theft revealed the shoddy security policies at the Louvre, the depth of esteem the art world held her in, and the speed with which a rarefied paragon of the art worl...more In 1911, Scotti tells us, Harland and Wolff was building the biggest ship known to man, Scott was on his way to the South Pole, and the most audacious heist in art history was in the works. By 1913, only one of the three could have been called a success. When the Mona Lisa went missing in 1911, the whole world went into a tizzy. Her theft revealed the shoddy security policies at the Louvre, the depth of esteem the art world held her in, and the speed with which a rarefied paragon of the art world could become a ubiquitous bit of popular culture. A few thoughts:

- It’s really stunning just how bad security at the Louvre was. While other museums had at least secured paintings to walls with screws, the Louvre hung them from hooks, so they could be easily removed. They also had a policy that any of the photographers working in the museum could, at any time and without notifying anyone, take a painting off the wall and bring it to the photographic studio to take its picture. This meant that when a patron asked where Mona Lisa was, it took the guard three hours or more to realize that she’d been stolen rather than borrowed. (This was, of course, a full day after the theft had taken place while the museum was closed to the public.)
- Because I know little of art history, I think of Picasso as an accepted master. Of course, in 1911 he was an iconoclast, part of an anti-establishment art movement that disdained the seclusion museums created. He’d signed on, along with Apollinaire, to a manifesto calling for museums to be burned. When the investigation swung his way, it turned out that he had a couple statues that had been nicked from the Louvre in his home. He and Apollinaire actually ended up before a judge, though nothing became of it.
- For most of her history, Mona Lisa (or La Joconde, as the French call her) has been hidden from public view, spending several decades in the French King’s six-room royal bathroom suite. There are a number of art historians who wrote about how magnificent she is without having seen her. (Including one who erroneously described her glorious eyebrows.) This reminds me of much pre 1980s cinema scholarship, in which scholars had to write about a film based on only one or two viewings, sometimes long before the writing took place.
- The chapter on the known history of the painting itself presents a number of very interesting facts. In particular, I was fascinated to hear that Da Vinci completed the painting at a glacial pace, taking several years yet leaving no preliminary sketches or planning notes, despite being a pack rat about papers.
- The painting turned up in 1913, in the possession of a small-time thief who claimed to have stolen the painting to return it to Italy in revenge for all the art Napoleon had sacked in Italy during his invasions in the previous century. Many people were unsatisfied with his explanation, though, as the planning and audacity to commit the crime seems like it required a more sophisticated mind, and there were several holes in the thief’s story. Some of the other theories Scotti presents are the political (a conspiracy theory that the painting was stolen to diffuse tensions between France and Italy) and the conman theory (a notion that the painting was stolen to allow a skilled forger to secretly sell copies to unscrupulous collectors). The latter sounds most convincing, but Scotti provides a number of reasons to disbelieve the most public version of the conman theory, which appeared in The Saturday Evening Post.

Vanished Smile is an interesting, well-told book. Scotti does a solid job sketching out the characters and narrating the events that unfold during the search for the painting. Katie Mazun does a fine job with the narration as well. Worth reading for both the history and the caper.(less)

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Apr 13, 2009 Jeremy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction

This is a decent book, reflected by the middling score that I've given it. I guess I could start with the pros, and work my way to the cons.

On the plus side, it's chock full of sensational facts and history, and the author does a fantastic job of bringing to life the period under discussion.
Also, while some may take issue with the casual fictionalizations of the characters and plot points that R.A. Scotti employs, I thought it was really fun, and certainly made it a more entertaining than a ba...more

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Feb 20, 2010 Hotavio rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-on-france, books-on-art

Vanished Smile was tremendously enjoyable for me. Usually it takes me a few weeks to read a book, but this one took less than a week. That being said, I would venture to say that it is highly readable, if not relatively short.

In 1911 the painting disappeared, causing widespread shock. Suspects ranged from wealthy Americans such as J.P. Morgan, to the Germans, to Picasso and his gang of artists. A few suspects, such as Picasso and Guillarme Apollonaire are arrested and their integrity scrutinized...more

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Apr 16, 2009 Karen rated it 2 of 5 stars

Why do I keep reading books about stolen/ lost paintings? I think this is my third in a year. Too bad none of them have been very good.

This is a non-fiction account of the theft of the Mona Lisa from The Louvre in 1911. To be honest, I didn't even know it had been stolen, so I did learn a lot. It was interesting to learn how incredibly lax security was back then. Nobody even realized the painting was stolen for two days because any photographer could just take the painting off the wall (yes, it...more

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Nov 15, 2009 Christie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction, on-my-kindle

This was a fairly interesting book in that it covered a lot of ground regarding the history of the painting, the investigation, eventual recovery, etc. If anything, it piqued my interest in various topics - now I want to read the biography of Picasso, and about American journalism in the 1930's for example - Scotti writes about many different topics but doesn't delve too deeply into them, which makes sense considering this is a book about the theft of the Mona Lisa, but still leaves me with that...more

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Elena Ciao Christie, com'e'? Sembra interessante. L'ho messo nella mia lista dei libri da leggere. Dimmi cosa ne pensi. Alla fine hai ceduto alle tentazione...more
Nov 04, 2009 04:18am

Christie Si ho ceduto assolutamente!! Anche perchè quando c'è una cosa nuova devo sempre essere la prima persona ad averla... però ora quando lo porto in giro...more
Nov 04, 2009 02:42pm

Sep 06, 2011 Nathalie S rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is the less known story (at least to me) of the real theft of the Mona Lisa at the beginning of the 20th century. Very rich in history and details and very very readable. It involves artists such as Picasso and cubist poet Guillaume Apollinaire whose name I'd heard but never knew just who he was. Great introductory look at the beginning of the cubist art movement---all those people were young and "revolutionary" and thought they were very cool, hip and immortal just like young people today!...more

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Jun 18, 2009 Rose rated it 5 of 5 stars

The theft of the Mona Lisa is like the sinking of the Titanic and the first trans-Atlantic phone call: you're conscious of it, even if you don't know the particulars.

R.A. Scotti has written an excellent introduction to the crime that captured the world's imagination in 1911. When the beloved Mona Lisa disappeared from the Louvre, thousands of shocked Parisians flocked to the museum to stare at the empty space where Leonardo's purloined masterpiece had hung. They left flowers and notes, and pray...more

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May 08, 2012 Danny rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: library-book, listened-to

An account of the theft of the Mona Lisa in 1911. It goes into the history of the painting, and some of the figures involved (including Picasso and a friend who were suspected at one time), but generally sticks to the crime. The whole thing is framed by a speculative narrative about what MIGHT have happened (in addition to what is believed to have happened) depending on the word of an aging journalist who practiced the epitome of yellow journalism in his heyday. So that's weird.

The most interest...more

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Sep 04, 2011 Michelle rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: history, non-fiction

Interesting (and little-known) true story about the theft of the Mona Lisa from the Louvre in the early 20th century, and Apollinaire and Picasso's involvement. The voice is beautiful, and much of the time I felt I was reading a novel, not a book of history. Unfortunately, the book suffers from poor organization that makes it lag in the middle and end with a soft thud instead of a bang.

The beginning reads like a mystery. The guards at the Louvre have just discovered that the Mona Lisa is missin...more

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Apr 23, 2011 Ethan Clark rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: history

It takes a very talented person to make history sound so interesting. R.A. Scotti managed to craft a splendid world out of prose and past, reviving a century-old tale of theft and the woman surrounding it all. I had no idea that the Mona Lisa (aka la Jocunde or Gioconda) had such a twisted history, taking her through the private galleries of monarchs to a gallery made for the people. Though the story did get a bit dull at times, I like how it ended with a smidge of doubt as to what really went d...more

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Jul 13, 2009 Jake Rideout rated it 4 of 5 stars

In August of 1911, the Mona Lisa disappeared from the Louvre without a trace. The prime suspects (Pablo Picasso and his gang of miscreant friends) were arrested and released when their guilt could not be proven. The trail went cold, and Da Vinci's most famous work of art was presumed lost forever. Two years later, it turned up in a very unexpected place--but who was behind the theft? Why was it stolen? And who was Mona Lisa, anyway? R A Scotti presents the facts in a clear, straightforward histo...more

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Jan 27, 2010 Zach rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010-books, audio-books, audio-books-2010, art, true-crime, law-enforcement-true-crime

Interesting, readable take on a suprisingly less known event in history.

The author does a good job of setting the scene and creating interesting characterizations of actual people and events. The author also conveys the unique time--the transition to the more modern age/rise of technology ie the technology the police attempted to use.

Also the political and social movements involved--tension between Italy and France as well as Germany on the eve of World War II, as well as the rebellious art mo...more

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Oct 16, 2009 patience rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book is the second in a row I've read about the theft of the Mona Lisa from the Louvre in 1911. The painting was returned in 1913 by an Italian who claimed he wanted to return it to Italy after it was stolen by Napoleon (his history was wrong, Francois I acquired it not long after Leonardo died).
This book and the other (Crimes of Paris) express doubts that the thief worked alone, arguing that he was too unsophisticated and that it was unlikely that he'd have kept the painting without "rans...more

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Nov 27, 2012 Liza rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: adult-non-fiction, dpl-book-clubs, excellent-narrative-voice

Read for a library book club.

Many books about art theft get bogged down in brush strokes when really the reader is looking more for a Thomas Crown Affair experience. Scotti most certainly does NOT have that problem.

Vanished Smile was fascinating from the beginning and from page to page was a mind-boggling account of a time, place, and culture most people can't imagine. Scotti shares with the reader just how utterly unlikely it was that the Mona Lisa was ever returned to the world at all, and wha...more

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Sep 27, 2012 Regina Lindsey rated it 3 of 5 stars

I will warn that if you are reading this for the mystery aspect you may be disappointed because the book focuses more on the history of Paris, The Mona Lisa, and the emergence of modern art in all of its conflicts with Renaissance art. That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed the book.

There were many theories afloat as to the responsible parties for its short disappearance from Picasso and Apollonaire, to the government in order to deflect tension from the approaching war, to emerging American we...more

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Sep 15, 2009 Robert rated it 3 of 5 stars

The mystery of the Mona Lisa alone is an intersting topic that has been written about by many authors, however Scotti used the true story of the painting's theft to shed new light on some of the clues to the understanding of its appeal. Only after it was stolen does it begin to take on the national importance of a treasure. Although some of Da Vinci's closest artist friends knew that his work was of genius, the rest of the world was still in the dark about the mysterious lady. The story of how t...more

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Mar 26, 2012 Linda rated it 3 of 5 stars

In 1911, the Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre, and the theft wasn’t noticed for more than twenty-four hours. Paris was in an uproar. One of the suspects was Pablo Picasso, because he had been implicated in the theft of some small statues a few years before. Two years later, the thief returned the painting and although it is known who committed the crime, no one is sure just why. In 1932 a long article appeared in the “Saturday Evening Post” that was supposed to explain the motive, but no on...more

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Feb 28, 2012 Gale Martin rated it 4 of 5 stars

I actually listened to the audiobook version of this one, which made me want to read the print version. The reader was talented but seemed enamored of her ability to pronounce all the French and foreign words and names and that got in the way for me. Also, it is content rich and hard to digest when someone is reading at a fast clip. But as far as the author's work, it was really well written. Provocative beginning written with the grace and the pace of literature. I really loved the chapters abo...more

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May 02, 2013 Lesle rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013

Whodunit?!

I didn't actually know the Mona Lisa had been stolen from the Louvre before my husband suggested this book to me. So now I know, and I know who stole it . . . though I don't think I know the real reason why . . . but that's okay. As long as La Joconde is again safely tucked in her home so I can see her when I visit.

I really enjoyed this book! Scotti kept me interested in the story, and offered other historical information that piqued my interest as well. I loved being introduced to cha...more

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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5146949-vanished-smile?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320464584l/5146949.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5146949-vanished-smile?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Vanished Smile: The Mysterious Theft of Mona Lisa by R.A. Scotti[/url]

Vanished Smile: The Mysterious Theft of Mona Lisa

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Vanished Smile: The Mysterious Theft of Mona Lisa

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