The Mona Lisa, known in French as La Joconde, is one of the most famous paintings in the world. But do you know what happened to it on August 22, 1911?

There is an interesting story behind the statue of Balzac by the famous sculptor Rodin. He wasn't afraid to shock his audience. Find out why his decision to represent Balzac's genius caused quite a scandal.

Edgar Degas' Little Fourteen-Year-Old Dancer might look unassuming at first glance, but it's actually an innovative sculpture that caused quite a scandal.

Learn the history behind Odilon Redon's The Chariot of Apollo, in which the titular god doesn't even appear!

The Venus de Milo statue at the Louvre is famous for its missing arms. King Louis XVIII issued an order forbidding it from being restored.

With The Asparagus, Manet introduced a modern approach to still life by painting a single stalk of asparagus on a table instead of a whole bunch. The painting was also a bit of a joke gift for a patron who'd overpaid for a previous "bunch."

Eugène Delacroix's Liberty Leading the People raised eyebrows when it was first exhibited in 1831. It's still controversial in some places. Find out what irked so many people and why some countries have requested that certain parts of the painting be covered.

In his painting The Death of Marat, Jacques-Louis David made Marat a symbol of French revolutionary martyrdom. The painting represents Marat dying in his bathtub after being stabbed by Charlotte Corday in 1793.

The Impressionist movement owes its name to Claude Monet's Impression, Sunrise. But the term "impressionist" was originally a slur, coined by a journalist criticizing the movement.

In this video you will discover what happened to the oldest known representation of a fish in the world. Although carved straight out of a rock, it wasn't entirely safe from unscrupulous hands.

In this video, find out the significance of the mysterious tapestry La Dame à la licorne (The Lady and the Unicorn). The meaning behind this six-paneled medieval tapestry has eluded scholars for centuries. Let's see how medievalists have made "sense" of it!

Sophie Calle's "The Telephone" is a flower-shaped phone booth on Paris's Pont du Garigliano. The work contains a functioning phone, but there's a catch: you can't make calls on it, though you may receive one from Calle herself!

Manet's The Fife Player was deemed controversial in its day because it depicted an ordinary person, which departed from the traditions of academic portraiture.