French president Emmanuel Macron announced Tuesday that the Mona Lisa, Leonardo Da Vinci’s masterpiece and one of the most iconic artworks in the world, would soon be moved to a new exhibition space.
The move is a part of a larger renovation plan to overhaul the Louvre museum in Paris, France’s most famous museum which welcomes around nine million visitors every year.
The announcement comes just one week after a memo, written by Louvre director Laurence de Cars, was leaked to the Le Parisien newspaper, in which the director warned about the museum’s deteroriating condition, lack of modern facilities and amenities, and “physical strain” caused by consistent overcrowding at the 232-year-old building.
The memo also called for the museum to “reassess” the display of the Mona Lisa and suggested it recieve a dedicated room of its own. (It is currently housed in the Salle des États, where it recieves around 20,000-30,000 visitors per day, far beyond what that gallery was designed to accomodate.
Relocating the Mona Lisa has been on des Cars’ to-do for some time. Last April, the Telegraph reported that des Cars told staff that the current display creates “public disappointment.” and suggested a new underground chamber designed for the painting would create a better experience for visitors.
It seems Macron has taken up des Cars’ suggestion. In his announcement Tuesday, made in front of the painting at the Louvre, he said that the renovation would add several new underground exhibition spaces beneath Cour Carrée, the Louvre’s eastern courtyard. One of those spaces will house the Mona Lisa, which will have its own entrance and, perhaps more importantly for funding the grand renovation, its own ticket.
In comments to the New York Times Tuesday, des Cars described the Mona Lisa‘s current exhibitions pace as “a scene of intense agitation.”
“Everywhere the building is suffering,” Ms. des Cars said on Tuesday before Mr. Macron’s speech in the Louvre’s Salle des États gallery, where the Mona Lisa is currently kept.
“Each day this very room is the scene of intense agitation,” she said, a place where frustrated and tired tourists jostle to catch a glimpse the painting.
“The Louvre’s exceptional visitor numbers are not a curse, they’re a source of pride,” she said. “It’s also a challenge to reinvent ourselves and remain faithful to our public service mission.”
While no price tag was put on the renovations, last year Le Figaro estimated that such an overhaul would cost €500 million. Macron said the renovations would be funded by increasing ticket prices for non-European Union countries, beginning in 2026.
But why do so many people care about seeing the Mona Lisa, anyways? We’ve got a few theories.
