In this episode, we travel back in time to Paris in 1911 to the Louvre where one of the most iconic paintings of all time is discovered missing: the Mona Lisa. In the first episode of our two-part series, we explore the inception of the painting and its captivating hold on both kings and museum viewers alike, la Belle Époque and the art movements that arose, the advent of photojournalism and sensationalism in the media, and a dastardly gang of punk artists and poets challenging the status quo of the art world. Thanks for listening!

“The picture becomes more wonderful to us than it really is and reveals to us a secret of which, in truth, it knows nothing.” - Oscar Wilde

Some references for this episode:

Sources:

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

Mona Lisa: The Picture and the Myth by Roy McMullen

The Thefts of the Mona Lisa: The Complete Story of the World’s Most Famous Artwork by Noah Charney

Picasso and His Friends by Fernande Olivier

Ways of Seeing by John Berger

https://www.thoughtco.com/the-belle-epoque-beautiful-age-1221300

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/guillaume-apollinaire