Imagine awakening to discover that your favourite meme on the web or an indie film that is moderately well-liked is now the most highly protected national heritage item in just a couple of hours. Before TikTok patterns and algorithms for virality created global fame from thin air, a calm day in Paris just did that with an unassuming, 400-year-old painting.
On the 21st of August in 1911, the Louvre was closed to the public for regular maintenance. The halls were pretty quiet except for a few employees who were still hungover, taking in the remnants of an energetic Parisian evening on a Sunday. Against the background of the silence, three people carrying heavy objects slipped from a small art supply storage space and headed for the exit. The men appeared suspicious; however, amid the morning fog, they were not paying any attention. The blanket they were wrapped in between their legs was a 200-pound box made of glass, wood, and iron, at 7:47 a.m. They were taking an express train to leave the city.
