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'Mona Lisa' had a hell of a weekend

The Mona Lisa has weathered one other storm, this time involving a cake, a wig, and a dramatically-orchestrated protest.

The Renaissance masterpiece by Leonardo Da Vinci, arguably essentially the most well-known portray on the planet that completely sits behind bulletproof glass on the Louvre in Paris, was smeared by a chunk of cake, delivered by a 36-year-old man on Sunday. Disguised in a wig, the suspect was reportedly sitting in a wheelchair within the gallery earlier than standing as much as throw cake on the portray, witnesses informed French press.

In keeping with the Impartial, he tossed roses across the house, later being escorted out by safety guards.

In a video filmed by an onlooker within the gallery, the activist was seen saying to guests in French, “Consider the Earth. There are people who find themselves destroying the Earth. Give it some thought. Artists inform you: consider the Earth. That’s why I did this.”

The cake solely touched the bulletproof glass which encases the portray. The Mona Lisa herself confronted no injury.

Created by Da Vinci over 500 years in the past, the paintings also called La Gioconda is not any stranger to threats. The portray was as soon as stolen in 1911, had a rock thrown at it in 1956, and been the topic of one other flamboyant protest involving crimson paint in 1974. Extra lately, in 2009, a lady who was denied French citizenship threw a ceramic teacup on the glass.

Nonetheless, the cultural icon prevails, and is now the middle of each well-wishers and — in fact — memes on Twitter.