The shock of a damaged masterpiece

An organization called Art To Fight Violence placed a full page ad in the September 11, 2013 issue of The New York Times. The organization is auctioning donated works of art and distributing the monies raised to a variety of charities that benefit people who have been impacted by violence around the globe. A photo of the “Mona Lisa” riddled with bullet holes and knife slashes takes up the majority of the page. As print ads are carefully planned to capture the casual reader’s attention, it should be helpful for those in conservation public outreach to know that a damaged masterpiece is still thought to hold the power to shock and move.