Man Disguised as Grandmother Appears at Louvre Museum, Throws Cake at Mona Lisa

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] A man in his 30s who threw a cake at the glass covering the 'Mona Lisa' exhibited at the Louvre Museum in Paris, France, was arrested by the police.

According to the AP News and others on the 30th (local time), the Paris Prosecutor's Office announced that the man was arrested for the incident that occurred the day before and sent to a psychiatric clinic at the police headquarters, and an investigation was launched on suspicion of attempting to damage cultural heritage. The identity of the man has not been specifically disclosed.

Videos posted on social networking services (SNS) show a man dressed entirely in white clothes, wearing a wig reminiscent of an elderly woman, and lipstick, appearing in a wheelchair and taking out a cake hidden in his bag to throw it.

When the man was arrested by the police, he shouted in French, "There are people trying to destroy the Earth," and "All artists, please think about the Earth. That is why I did this. Just think about the Earth."

The Mona Lisa, painted by Leonardo da Vinci, has been covered with glass and shown to visitors since it was damaged by a stone thrown by a Bolivian man in December 1956. Since 2005, the museum has placed the Mona Lisa inside reinforced glass that can control temperature and humidity.

In 2009, a Russian woman, angry at not acquiring French citizenship, threw a teacup at the Mona Lisa, but neither the glass covering the artwork nor the artwork itself was damaged.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.