According to witnesses present who told their stories on social media, the attacker was a young man wearing a wig who arrived at the Louvre in a wheelchair. Once in front of the 77 × 53 cm work, the man jumped up and tried to “break the bulletproof glass,” said one witness.
The assailant then “smeared cake on the glass and threw roses everywhere, before being subdued by security,” another witness said on Twitter.
Upon arrest, the assailant uttered the words, “Think of the Earth.”
“There are people who are destroying the Earth. Think about it. Artists tell you: think about the Earth. That’s why I did this,” he said.
On average, 20,000 visitors come to admire and photographLeonardo da Vinci‘s Mona Lisa daily.This makes it the most popular piece in the world.