Una novela de aventuras que retrata el delito internacional m s ins lito de la historia del arte, protagonizada por la enigm tica figura del estafador argentino Marqu s de Valfierno.

«Una exquisita e inteligente mirada en torno a la identidad, la clase y el arte, todo en una historia intrigante basada en hechos reales .--Kirkus

Lo llamaron el robo del siglo, aunque el siglo reci n empezaba. Por l acusaron y detuvieron a Picasso y Apollinaire, pero pronto tuvieron que soltarlos y asumir que no ten an ni idea de qui n se hab a llevado la Gioconda de su sala del Louvre. La verdad se sigue discutiendo: lo m s probable es que el cerebro de la operaci n fuera un argentino que se hac a llamar marqu s de Valfierno. Con esa hip tesis, con esa historia oscura, Mart n Caparr s construye una novela en la que recrea la vida del estafador que tuvo en vilo a Francia durante a os y que confes , poco antes de morir, que hab a planeado el robo por la raz n m s sorprendente.

Valfierno recibi en 2004 el Premio Planeta Sudam rica y ha sido traducida a una docena de idiomas: con un estilo elegante y depurado, es sin duda una de las novelas m s le das y lograda de Caparr s.

ENGLISH DESCRIPTION

The Vanishing of the Mona Lisa is a captivating fictionalization of the greatest art theft of the twentieth century.

On August 22, 1911, the world was shocked by an unthinkable and audacious crime: Leonardo Da Vinci's masterpiece, the Mona Lisa, disappeared from the walls of the Louvre.

While artists such as Picasso and Apollinaire were suspected of the theft, no arrests were made. Two years later an Italian, Vincenzo Peruggia, was detained when trying to sell the Mona Lisa to an antiques dealer in Florence--but the mystery of the theft itself was never satisfactorily resolved.

In his spellbinding novel, Mart n Caparr s tackles this enigma, presenting us with a fascinating criminal unable to go to his grave without divulging the details of his outrageous heist. In tantalizing conversations with an American journalist, the Marqu s de Valfierno sheds light on his past secrets, including his sordid origins as Bollino, son of a Buenos Aires servant woman, a man ultimately transformed into the most notorious con artist in the world. A sly and consummate entertainer, Valfierno reveals the shifting identities of the anonymous Argentine boy who has gone on to become a veritable artist, creating for himself the perfect role of wealthy aristocrat in Belle poque, Paris, as he prepares for his crime.

Featuring an engaging cat-and-mouse drama with unforgettable characters, this is a brilliant fictionalization of the greatest theft of the twentieth century, as well as a compelling psychological portrait of a true mastermind.

Valfierno / Valfierno: The Man Who Stole the Mona Lisa - häftad, Spanska, 2023