The Scream by Edvard Munch is among the most iconic images of modern art. Of 4 versions of the painting, 2 have been stolen in major museum heists.

Munch’s

The Scream was not simply a product of stress, or an uncharacteristic moment of panic. It symbolizes the darkly troubled times Munch was experiencing as he dealt with mental illness and trauma, and his attempt to rationalize and explain his experience through what he knew best; painting.

On May 7, 1994, Norway’s most famous painting, “The Scream” by Edvard Munch, is recovered almost three months after it was stolen from a museum in Oslo. The fragile painting was recovered undamaged at a hotel in Asgardstrand, about 40 miles south of Oslo, police said.

The model, Lisa del Giocondo, was a member of the Gherardini family of Florence and Tuscany, and the wife of wealthy Florentine silk merchant Francesco del Giocondo. The painting is thought to have been commissioned for their new home, and to celebrate the birth of their second son, Andrea.

Guinness World Records lists Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa as having the highest ever insurance value for a painting. On permanent display at the Louvre in Paris, the Mona Lisa was assessed at US$100 million on December 14, 1962. Taking inflation into account, the 1962 value would be around US$860 million in 2020.

Mona Lisa is wearing very plain clothing which is markedly different from other costumes painted at the time. She wears a very dark, simple dress with a pleated bodice, with gold embroidery. The dress has a low neckline that exposes her chest. She is not wearing any jewelry and a scarf hangs from her left shoulder.

Indeed, the Mona Lisa is a very realistic portrait. The subject’s softly sculptural face shows Leonardo’s skillful handling of sfumato, an artistic technique that uses subtle gradations of light and shadow to model form, and shows his understanding of the skull beneath the skin.