Yves Chaudron clones of Leonardo's great portrait" while Valfierno made arrangements to steal the real painting. In the early hours of 21 August 1911, Louvre employee Vincenzo Peruggia and two accomplices carried the "Mona Lisa" out of the museum covered in a painter's smock. Decker asserts that six Chaudron copies had already been sent to the United States ahead of the theft and while the stolen original remained in France, Valfierno followed his fakes and sold each for up to 300,000. The original remained hidden for two years until Peruggia, presenting himself as Leonardo Vincenzo, tried to sell it in Florence, Italy.
Louvre and their artistic and cultural sensibilities. In 1797, the Treaty of Tolentino was signed by Napoleon, and two statues, the "Nile" and "Tiber", were taken to Paris. These statues had previously been in the Vatican, and both were housed in the Louvre until 1815. After the defeat of Napoleon, the "Nile" was returned to Italy. However, the "Tiber" remained in the Louvre Museum and can be seen in the collections today. The Italian Peninsula was not the only region from which Napoleon took art. Under the Directory government of the 1790s, Napoleon (then a General) led an expedition to Egypt.