Mona Lisa smeared with cake at Louvre. Man disguised as old woman in wheelchair hurls dessert at da Vinci’s masterpiece

It was an unusual day for art enthusiasts and tourists at the renowned Louvre Museum in Paris on Sunday. Italian polymath and legendary artist Leonardo da Vinci’s timeless work Mona Lisa was smeared with cake by one of the visitors.

According to a report on Marca.com, an eye-witness at the spot said that the miscreant was a man who disguised as an old woman in a wheelchair. Even as visitors went about the routine sightseeing, the man leapt out of the wheelchair and rushed towards the painting and hurled the cake.

Immediately after the incident, security personnel at the museum reached the spot and ejected the man from the room. Even as the man was being taken out, visitors kept clicking pictures of the cake-smeared La Gioconda (another name for the Mona Lisa).

The Mona Lisa was created sometime between 1503 and 1519 by da Vinci. The painting at the Louvre Museum is intact as it has been protected with safety glass.

Incidentally, this is not the first time when someone tried to destroy, deface or steal the historic artwork. In the 1950s, a man tried to damage the painting by pouring sulphuric acid on it. In 1956, a student from Bolivia hurled a stone at the painting. In 2009, reportedly a Russian woman was denied French citizenship for allegedly hurling a teacup at the painting.

The Mona Lisa is among the most valuable paintings in the world and holds the record for the highest painting insurance valuation at USD 100 million (reported in 1962). The painting is considered to be a seminal work of the Italian renaissance. For centuries, the Mona Lisa has captivated the viewer with its enigma and illusion.