The Missing Mona Lisa
A visitor to the Louvre museum in Paris once found a surprising sight: an empty space where a famous painting belonged. The Mona Lisa, Leonardo da Vinci’s portrait of a woman with a mysterious smile, had disappeared. Its theft in 1911 became a major news story and helped make the painting famous around the world.
Leonardo painted the Mona Lisa in the early 1500s. Long before the theft, the portrait had become part of the collection of the Louvre, a former palace turned museum. Artists and art lovers admired it, but it was not yet known to as many people as it is today.
On August 21, 1911, the painting was stolen from the Louvre. The museum was closed to the public that day, and the disappearance was discovered the following day. The bare spot on the gallery wall made it clear that the painting was missing, but it did not reveal who had taken it or where it had gone.
The Louvre closed while officials investigated. Police questioned people and searched for clues, but the painting remained missing. Newspapers reported on the theft, and the story traveled far beyond France. Readers who had never visited the Louvre could now learn about the portrait and wonder what had happened to it.
- portrait:
- A picture of a person.
- investigated:
- Carefully examined something to find out what happened.
- clues:
- Pieces of information that help solve a mystery.
- suspicions:
- Ideas that something may be true without having proof.
- evidence:
- Information that helps show whether something is true.
- recovered:
- Found or got back after being lost or stolen.
- eventual:
- Happening after some time.
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Preview questions from this passageShowHide
- 1How did the theft help make the Mona Lisa better known?
- 2What does the empty space on the wall reveal, and what did it leave unexplained?
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About this explanatory article passage for Upper Elementary
“The Missing Mona Lisa” is a explanatory article reading passage about The 1911 theft of the Mona Lisa, written for Upper Elementary. It takes about 3 minutes to read (463 words) and comes with an interactive quiz and a printable worksheet with comprehension questions and an answer key.