“It’s always frustrating when you don’t provide the best possible welcome to visitors, and that’s the case with Mona Lisa,” Louvre museum director Laurence des Cars told France Inter radio on April 27.
Visitors look at the painting La Joconde at the Louvre museum in Paris (France) on April 20, 2023
She believes there needs to be a better solution and said the museum in Paris has contacted the French Ministry of Culture about this. According to the director, building a separate room to display the Mona Lisa portrait will bring a better experience to visitors because many people come to the museum just to admire this masterpiece.
The Louvre is considered the most famous museum in the world, welcoming nearly 9 million visitors in 2023, according to AFP. Ms. Des Cars said 80% of them, equivalent to about 20,000 visitors a day, come to see Leonardo da Vinci’s painting. According to some estimates, visitors have an average of 50 seconds to look at Mona Lisa.
The portrait of Mona Lisa with a mysterious smile has attracted the attention of art lovers, thieves and even protesters seeking to vandalize the painting.
The painting currently hangs in the State Room (Salle des Etats), the museum’s largest area, and is housed in a protective glass frame that can prevent an acid attack. However, there are many other masterpieces there, including The Wedding at Cana by Italian artist Paolo Veronese.
Rebuilding the area is estimated to cost 500 million euros. According to Euronewsthe French Ministry of Culture supports the Louvre museum’s new project, but Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire is not convinced.
