The Theft of the Mona Lisa The Theft of the Mona Lisa The Theft of the Mona Lisa (German: Der Raub der Mona Lisa) is a 1931 German drama film directed by Géza von Bolváry and starring Trude von Molo , Willi Forst and Gustaf Gründgens. It is based on a true story. The film's sets were designed by the art directors Andrej Andrejew and Robert A. Dietrich. In 1911, Vincenzo Peruggia is a poverty-stricken Italian glazier who falls in love with Mathilde, a French hotel maid. Struck by the girl's resemblance to Leonardo da Vinci's "Mona Lisa", Vicenzo manages to steal the painting from the
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.