May 29, 2022
Cake on the Glass: The Mona Lisa's Strangest Day at the Louvre
A man in disguise smeared cake across the Mona Lisa's protective glass in Paris — leaving the world's most famous painting unharmed, but the internet stunned.
On 29 May 2022, the Louvre witnessed one of the odder protests in its history. A visitor — reportedly disguised in a wig and seated in a wheelchair — lunged at the Mona Lisa and smeared cake across the bulletproof glass that protects Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece, scattering roses as security led him away.
He shouted about artists and the planet as he was removed. The painting, shielded behind its famous case, was completely unharmed; staff simply wiped the glass clean.
The episode joined a growing trend of climate and protest actions aimed at famous artworks — and proved, once again, why the Mona Lisa now smiles from behind such formidable defences.
Image: “Mona Lisa, by Leonardo da Vinci, from C2RMF retouched” — Leonardo da Vinci, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.