Museum security concerns rise after the latest Louvre robbery, as experts recall other major art thefts, including the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum's still-unsolved heist from 1990.

On Tuesday August 22, 1911, the Mona Lisa was stolen from the Musée du Louvre under everyone's noses. In the early hours of the morning, painter Louis Béroud, accompanied by engraver Frédéric Laguillermie, went to the Salon Carré of the Louvre. The two artists, both regulars, were planning to sketch, as usual, a painting on display in the museum.

Museum heists, particularly ones involving historic and valuable items, have shocked the world and inspired mystery and suspicion for more than a century.

Explore the history of major art heists at Paris’s Louvre Museum — from the 1911 theft of the Mona Lisa to Courbet’s missing The Wave and the recent jewellery robbery in the Apollo Room.

It was the Monday morning of August 21, 1911, the weekly closure day of the Louvre during the summer holidays, when an Italian mason named Vincenzo Peruggia carried out the most astounding art heist in modern times when he stole the Mona Lisa during the day, around 7 am.

A major robbery occurred at the Louvre Museum in Paris, leading to its closure for the day. Thieves used a basket lift to access the museum, breaking a window and stealing valuable jewels from display cases.

From the $500 million Gardner Museum robbery to the theft of the Mona Lisa, history’s biggest museum heists, including this week’s Louvre break-in involving Napoleon-era jewels, show how priceless art continues to tempt thieves and challenge global security.

The world-famous Louvre Museum in Paris was closed on Sunday following a robbery, France's Culture Minister Rachida Dati confirmed. Authorities have not yet disclosed details about what was stolen or how the robbery occurred.

One of the most infamous heists in the cultural institution’s history was the 1911 theft of the Mona Lisa—when Pablo Picasso numbered among the suspects.