Mona Lisa
Today the "Mona Lisa" is considered the most famous painting in the world, but until the 20th century it was simply one among many highly regarded artworks.
Once part of King Francis I of France's collection, the "Mona Lisa" was among the first artworks to be exhibited in Louvre, which became a national museum after the French Revolution. From the 19th century Leonardo began to be revered as a genius and the painting's popularity grew from the mid-19th century when French intelligentsia developed a theme that it was mysterious and a representation of the femme fatale.
The Baedeker guide in 1878 called it "the most celebrated work of Leonardo in the Louvre", but the painting was known more by the intelligentsia than the general public.
The 1911 theft of the "Mona Lisa" and its subsequent return was reported worldwide, leading to a massive increase in public recognition of the painting. During the 20th century it was an object for mass reproduction, merchandising, lampooning and speculation, and was claimed to have been reproduced in "300 paintings and 2,000 advertisements". It has been said that the "Mona Lisa" was regarded as "just another Leonardo until early last century, when the scandal of the painting's theft from the Louvre and subsequent return kept a spotlight on it over several years."
Mona Lisa's Revenge
The Mona Lisa tries to unleash a beast in the gallery basement, which she refers to as her brother. This creature is locked up in a vault and can only be released by using a puzzle box key. This key is destroyed by Harding who, despite his admiration for La Gioconda, cannot allow her to unleash the beast on the world. Luke, Clyde, and Rani have to try to solve the problem without Sarah Jane as she is now trapped in a painting. The Dark Rider captures Clyde and takes him to the vaults along with the Mona Lisa and Harding. As Mr Harding has destroyed the original key, Clyde is encouraged to draw another, that the Mona Lisa can bring to life as a replacement. This is done and the key is used, but before the beast can escape, a picture of K-9 drawn by Clyde also comes to life and fires at the beast, causing it to retreat into the vault. This sets off a chain reaction causing all the painting people to revert to being just works of art, and all those trapped in paintings to be released. The story ends with the Mona Lisa restored to her frame and Luke promising to tidy his room.Pearson Education published a simplified novelisation of this episode by Trevor Baxendale under the title "Painting Peril" for school literacy programs in September 2010.