India, 18th June 2026: HistoryTV18 brings viewers the intriguing account of one of the most sensational crimes in art history with ‘History’s Greatest Mysteries: The Theft Of The Monalisa: Case Closed’, premiering Friday, June 19th at 9PM. Hosted by Oscar and Golden Globe nominee and six-time Emmy winner Laurence Fishburne, the special revisits the daring theft of Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. The masterpiece was stolen from the Louvre in 1911, making international headlines. An extraordinary investigation followed.
On an August morning that year, artist Louis Béroud arrived at the Louvre to copy the Mona Lisa, only to find a blank wall and four empty pegs where the painting had hung. The world’s most recognisable portrait had vanished without a trace. Soon, panic gripped the museum and the Paris Police swung into action.
The investigation, led by celebrated Paris Police chief Louis Lépine, uncovered clues that pointed to someone with intimate knowledge of the Louvre. But as the search widened, so did the list of suspects. Was it a museum insider, a notorious master thief, a wealthy collector or a radical artist with a grudge against tradition? With names like Guillaume Apollinaire, Pablo Picasso and J.P. Morgan drawn into speculation, the case became as captivating as the painting itself.
‘History’s Greatest Mysteries: The Theft Of The Monalisa: Case Closed’ follows the twists and turns in the case, the theories and public frenzy surrounding the two-year hunt for the missing masterpiece. The episode traces how a shocking act of theft turned the Mona Lisa from an admired Renaissance portrait into the most famous painting in the world.
Blending expert insight, dramatic storytelling and the enduring intrigue of a historic crime, the special reveals how the case was finally solved and why, more than a century later, the theft of the Mona Lisa remains one of art history’s greatest mysteries.
Watch ‘History’s Greatest Mysteries: The Theft Of The Monalisa: Case Closed’, premiering Friday, June 19th at 9 PM, only on HistoryTV18.
