Mona Lisa on the Move

Millions of people visit the Louvre Museum in Paris each year. Many want a glimpse of one painting in particular—the Mona Lisa. The Louvre is its home now, but the painting has moved around a lot. Leonardo da Vinci began working on the portrait in Italy. He started it sometime between 1503 and 1506.

每年有数百万人参观巴黎卢浮宫博物馆。 许多人想要一睹一幅画，尤其是《蒙娜丽莎》。 卢浮宫现在是它的家，但这幅画已经被搬了很多地方。 达芬奇开始在意大利创作肖像画。 他在1503年至1506年间开始了这项工作。

In 1516 the French king invited da Vinci to France. Da Vinci accepted, and he brought the painting with him when he moved. Before da Vinci died, the French king bought the painting. Later French kings hung it in their palaces until 1793. That year the Louvre Palace became a public museum. The Mona Lisa was put on display in the museum. But it did not stay there for long.

1516年，法国国王邀请达芬奇前往法国。 达芬奇接受了，他搬家时带着这幅画。 达芬奇去世前，法国国王买下了这幅画。 后来的法国国王把它挂在自己的宫殿里，直到1793年。 那年，卢浮宫成为了一个公共博物馆。 《蒙娜丽莎》在博物馆展出。但它并没有在那里停留太久。

Within a decade, Napoleon took over France, and the Mona Lisa moved again. Napoleon hung the painting in his own bedroom! Soon it ended up back on display in the Louvre. The Mona Lisa was not a very popular painting though. This all changed in August 1911.

不到十年，拿破仑接管了法国，《蒙娜丽莎》又搬了过来。 拿破仑把这幅画挂在自己的卧室里！ 不久，它又回到卢浮宫展出。 然而，《蒙娜丽莎》并不是一幅很受欢迎的画作。1911年8月，一切都改变了。

On a Tuesday morning, a visitor to the museum noticed the painting was gone. At first the museum staff didn't worry. Paintings were often removed to be cleaned or photographed. But soon the staff realized something was terribly wrong. The painting had been stolen! It turned out that an Italian man named Vincenzo Peruggia had taken it.

周二上午，博物馆的一位游客注意到这幅画不见了。 起初，博物馆工作人员并不担心。画作经常被移走清洗或拍照。 但很快，工作人员就意识到出了严重的问题。这幅画被偷了！ 原来是一个名叫文森佐·佩鲁贾的意大利男子拿走了它。

He believed that the Italian masterpiece belonged in Italy, not France. So Peruggia, a handyman for the museum, came up with a plan. He knew the museum was always closed on Mondays. One Sunday, after the museum closed for the day, he hid in a closet. The next morning, he removed the frame from the painting.

他认为意大利的杰作属于意大利，而不是法国。 于是，博物馆的杂工佩鲁贾想出了一个计划。 他知道博物馆总是在周一闭馆。 一个星期天，博物馆闭馆一天后，他躲在壁橱里。 第二天早上，他把画框从画上取下来。

He hid the Mona Lisa under his jacket. Then he walked right out of the museum! The bold theft made headlines around the world. Instantly the Mona Lisa became the world's most famous painting. For two years Peruggia kept the painting hidden in a trunk. Eventually he returned to Italy. He tried to sell the painting there and was caught.

他把蒙娜丽莎藏在夹克里。然后他就走出了博物馆！ 这起大胆的盗窃案成为世界各地的头条新闻。 《蒙娜丽莎》立刻成为世界上最著名的画作。 两年来，佩鲁贾一直把这幅画藏在箱子里。 最终他回到了意大利。他试图在那里卖这幅画，结果被抓住了。