Two men from Germany were handed over to police in Paris after hanging their own paintings in the Louvre without permission. A museum spokeswoman confirmed the incident and said the Louvre would file a complaint. The museum declined to comment further on Saturday afternoon’s incident.
According to French media, the two men had taped two paintings to the wall—in the very room where Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa is displayed. Museum security guards caught the pair, called the police, and handed the men over to officers. They told police they’d hung the paintings as a joke. According to media reports, they weren’t taken into custody, but will be summoned once the museum’s complaint is filed.
According to Le Figaro and broadcaster TF1, citing informed sources, the briefly displayed paintings measured roughly 30 by 40 centimeters. One depicted a man in armor; the other showed the two men with a woman. The wall in the exhibition hall reportedly sustained minor damage as a result.
Not the first unauthorized painting at the museum
This isn’t the first time visitors have hung their own artwork on a wall in the Louvre. Just last year, two TikTokers from Belgium hung a work they’d brought with them. They, too, installed it near the Mona Lisa.
The Louvre is considered the most visited museum in the world. Just under a year ago, thieves made off with jewelry worth roughly €88 million. Negative headlines about the museum have kept coming since then—citing structural decay and doubts about the building’s security.