The Louvre Considers Basement Relocation for Mona Lisa
To help solve the current overcrowding and limited space within the gallery.
The Louvre in France is considering relocating the iconic Mona Lisa to her own basement room in an effort to enhance accessibility for visitors to view the renowned masterpiece. With approximately 10 million annual visitors flocking to catch a glimpse of Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece, the current overcrowding and limited space within the gallery have led to numerous complaints about the difficulty of experiencing the painting firsthand.
Management at the Louvre has proposed the idea of providing Mona Lisa with her own dedicated space to alleviate these issues and improve the overall visitor experience. Laurence des Cars, the museum’s director, expressed the sentiment that relocating Mona Lisa could potentially mitigate public disappointment, as per a report by Artnews: “Moving ‘Mona Lisa’ to a separate room could end the public’s disappointment,” said des Cars. “Visitors are not being properly received in the current room so we feel that we’re not doing our job properly.”
Currently, the 1503 painting is exhibited behind bulletproof glass in the center of the Salle des États, with crowd control measures in place to maintain order. Despite efforts to enhance the viewing experience through technological upgrades, such as anti-reflective coatings implemented in 2019, curators argue that the current setup contradicts Da Vinci’s original intention for the artwork.
