What is the name of the book and when was it published?
Saving Mona Lisa: The Battle to Protect the Louvre and its Treasures During World War II (May, 2014).
What is the book’s first line?
“The Louvre is the most visited museum in the world. When the vast majority of its almost 10 million annual visitors come to pay homage to the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, the Winged Victory of Samothrace and the breathtaking array of other masterpieces, they take for granted that the collections have always been calmly and majestically on view, but nothing could be further from the truth, for the Louvre lies in a city that has known much war.”
What’s the book about? Give us the “pitch.”
In late August 1939, Louvre curators spirited away the Mona Lisa to the Loire Valley, launching the biggest evacuation of art and antiquities in history. Throughout the German occupation, the Louvre’s staff fought to keep the priceless treasures out of the hands of Hitler and his henchmen; Saving Mona Lisa is the narrative of their battle. It is a compelling story of art and beauty, intrigue and ingenuity and remarkable moral courage in the face of one of the most fearful enemies in history.
The book brings readers from chateaux in the French countryside to the shadowy halls of the Louvre itself, where clandestine Resistance activities took place right under the nose of the Nazis. It brings alive the Nazi attempts to grab favorite masterpieces, the curators’ fear for their own safety and their constant efforts – and manipulations – to keep the artwork and antiquities safe and the narrow escape of the masterpieces from damage from flooding, gunfire, shells, bombs, and crashed planes.
The story further comes alive with 80+ images of the events, some of them never before published, that I obtained from archives in France and Germany, surviving family members and others.
What inspired you to write the book?
The history of the Louvre – as a fortress, as a pleasure palace and its origins as a museum – has long fascinated me. In a series of coincidences, I bumped into one fascinating tidbit of information after another about the museum during World War II and realized that the story had never been told in a comprehensive way and one that focused on the museum and the efforts of its staff rather than as a side story to the Nazi theft of art throughout Europe.
What’s the most distinctive thing about the main character?
The main character is Jacques Jaujard, the director of French national museums. His courage – in the face of pressure from both the Nazi leadership and France’s Vichy collaborators – is simply astounding. Also, after reviewing thousands of contemporaneous documents in French archives, many of them representing a river of correspondence from Jacquard and references to his telephone calls and meetings, it seems clear he must have had little sleep throughout those years as he battled for the safety of the museum’s treasures and its curators. And the official records don’t record the ways in which he also risked his job and life engaging in high-stakes Resistance activities.
What’s the main reason someone should really read this book?
Saving Mona Lisa is a fascinating read for anyone interested in history, art, France, Paris, the Louvre or simply a gripping, inspirational story. Readers have been consistently enthusiastic; they also enjoy the many photographs carefully integrated with the story to bring it to life. As one reviewer concluded, it’s a “terrific read all the way around.”