Louvre museum says 'Mona Lisa' could get a room of her own


By AGENCY

Visitors take pictures of Leonardo da Vinci's 'Mona Lisa' painting at the Louvre museum's State Room in Paris. Photo: AFP

The Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci, the world's most famous portrait, could get a room of its own in the Louvre, the museum's president announced recently.

Such a move would give visitors, many of whom visit the Louvre for the iconic painting alone, a better experience, Laurence des Cars told the France Inter broadcaster.

"It's always frustrating when you don't give visitors the best possible reception, and that is the case for the Mona Lisa," she said.

"A better solution seems necessary to me today," she said, adding that the Louvre was in contact with the culture ministry about potential solutions.

The Louvre, the world's most popular museum, welcomed close to nine million visitors in 2023.

Des Cars said 80 percent of them - 20,000 people per day - braved the crowd to catch a glimpse of the Mona Lisa's enigmatic smile, often taking selfies in front of the painting.

The Mona Lisa currently hangs in the Louvre's Salle des Etats (State Room), the museum's biggest, in a protective glass case, but Da Vinci's masterwork is not alone there.

It is accompanied by works by 16th-century Venetian masters, and across the room hangs the Louvre's biggest painting, The Wedding At Cana by Paolo Veronese. - AFP

Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel for breaking news alerts and key updates!

The Louvre , Paris , museum , Mona Lisa , art , visitors

   

Next In Culture

Banana taped to a wall sells for US$6.2mil in New York
Malaysian artist Book of Lai's 'Tiny Moving Place' series is inspired by George Town heritage houses
The Old High Court building in KL gets a stunning digital art glow-up
'Manifest' is Cambridge Dictionary's 2024 word of the year
Japan's manga powerhouse 'Dragon Ball' turns 40 today
How a viral, duct-taped banana came to be worth US$1mil
Painting by artist Ren� Magritte shatters record price for any Surrealist work
Arthur Frommer, creator of 'Europe On 5 Dollars A Day' travel guides, dies at 95
Japanese poet Shuntaro Tanikawa, master of modern free verse, dies at 92
Malaysian-born author’s debut is a sci-fi thriller spanning Earth and the cosmos

Others Also Read