French President Emmanuel Macron announced Tuesday that the “Mona Lisa” will get its own dedicated room inside the Louvre museum under a major renovation and expansion of the Paris landmark that will take up to 10 years.
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The renovation project, called “Louvre New Renaissance”, will include a new entrance near the River Seine, to be opened by 2031, and the creation of underground rooms, Macron said in a speech from the Louvre room where Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece is displayed.
Macron did not disclose an exact amount budgeted for the project to modernise the most visited museum in the world, plagued with overcrowding and outdated facilities. But it is estimated to reach up to €800 million (US$834 million).
The Louvre’s latest overhaul dates back to the 1980s, when the iconic glass pyramid was unveiled. Now, the museum is not up to international standards any more.
Macron said the expansion of the museum will allow the “Mona Lisa” to be moved to a new, dedicated room accessible to visitors through a special ticket. That will make the visit simpler for those who want to see the painting and ease the life of other visitors in the rest of the museum, he said.
The “Mona Lisa” is now being shown behind protective glass in the museum’s largest room, overcrowded with long, noisy queues of visitors eager to take a selfie with Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece. That makes some other paintings in the room by the greatest Venetian painters like Titian and Veronese go unnoticed by many.