Visitors observe the painting Mona Lisa by Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci on display in a gallery at the Louvre on May 19, 2021 in Paris, France.
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Visitors observe the painting Mona Lisa by Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci on display in a gallery at the Louvre on May 19, 2021 in Paris, France.
Marc Piasecki/Getty Images
The room in which the Mona Lisa The Louvre in Paris was last renovated only five years ago, in 2019.
But the museum is already looking at further improvements.
In an interview with the French broadcaster France Interextracts of which are available at social mediaLouvre director Laurence des Cars said her institution now aims to improve both the conditions surrounding Leonardo da Vinci's iconic Renaissance painting and the overall visitor experience.
“I place it at the heart of my mission as director to better welcome the public. And it is always frustrating when our visitor experience is not up to scratch – as is of course the case with the Mona Lisa', des Cars said in the interview with France Inter on Friday. “So in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture, we are thinking about making necessary improvements.”
According to a report last week in the French newspaper Le FigaroThe plans include relocating the painting, which is worth more than $830 million according to some estimates, in a separate underground room. Currently the Mona Lisa shares a large room with other works of art.
The proposed upgrades, said Le Figaro, would create two underground access points for visitors: one for the Mona Lisa and the other for temporary exhibitions. The estimated renovation budget is 500 million euros (about $535 million). But the price tag could be affected by state budget cuts.
A visitor photographs the painting Mona Lisa by Italian artist Leonardo Da Vinci on display in a gallery at the Louvre on May 19, 2021 in Paris.
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A visitor photographs the painting Mona Lisa by Italian artist Leonardo Da Vinci on display in a gallery at the Louvre on May 19, 2021 in Paris.
Marc Piasecki/Getty Images
The Louvre is the most visited museum in the world, attracting 8 to 10 million people last year. Mona Lisa is by far the biggest attraction. The museum receives around 20-30,000 visitors every day.
But many museum visitors complain about hours-long queues, the cramped conditions and the fact that they can only look at the painting, which is behind bulletproof glass, for a few seconds.
One recent analysis of visitors' online reviews of major museums and their most acclaimed works of art cited the Mona Lisa as “the world's most disappointing masterpiece”, thanks to the negativity of almost 40% of reviews.
The Mona Lisa itself has also been the target of numerous attacks over the years. In January, climate activists threw soup at the painting. The work itself is not damaged.
With Paris hosting the Olympic Games this summer, the Louvre is expecting a flood of visitors. Last week the museum launched a special exhibition dedicated to the origins of the global sporting event.
