Renowned musical impresario Andrew Lloyd Webber is now focusing his creative energy on the world’s most celebrated painting—Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, housed at the Louvre Museum. Webber is widely recognized for his hugely successful musical productions such as Jesus Christ Superstar, Cats, and Phantom of the Opera. Yet, his latest interest has been captured by one of art history’s most audacious thefts, which occurred in 1911 when Vincenzo Peruggia, then a Louvre employee, absconded with the revered artwork. The masterpiece was only recovered in late 1913 after the perpetrator attempted to sell it to Alfredo Geri, an antiques dealer in Florence.
Speaking to the UK theatre news platform The Stage, Lloyd Webber revealed he is currently developing another musical centered on the true account of the Mona Lisa‘s theft. He elaborated that it’s a factual narrative detailing the painting’s three-year disappearance and its eventual reemergence in Italy, adding that he couldn’t share additional details as he was preparing to leave the following week to commence writing it. This mysterious portrait of a woman with a gentle smile is widely considered to depict Lisa Gherardini, the spouse of a wealthy Florentine merchant.