Mona Lisa to be moved as part of major Louvre overhaul

BBC.com

The Mona Lisa will be moved to a new exhibition space at the Louvre in Paris as part of a plan to renovate the world’s most frequented museum.
Tariff changes will also be introduced from next January so non-EU residents – including UK tourists – pay more to visit.
She also said that “in the view of everyone, the presentation of the Mona Lisa… is something that needs to be looked at”.
Major renovation work will also be undertaken in the coming years to modernise infrastructure, and provide new toilet, restaurant and rest facilities.
His much-praised leadership in the post-fire renovation of Notre-Dame cathedral appears to have whetted his appetite for a similar grand projet at the Louvre.

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As part of an effort to update the most visited museum in the world, the Mona Lisa will be relocated to a new exhibition area at the Louvre in Paris.

In front of a group of dignitaries, Emmanuel Macron announced that the Leonardo da Vinci masterpiece would be renamed by 2031 and that admission to the painting would be paid for separately.

The president of France was presenting his New Renaissance plan, which will also include a global contest to create a second entrance to alleviate the mounting strain of tourists beneath the well-known glass pyramid.

Beginning in January of next year, tariff adjustments will also be implemented, making travel to the UK more expensive for non-EU citizens.

Macron was responding to Laurence des Cars, the director of the Louvre, who had warned that the museum was facing serious issues with overcrowding and deteriorating infrastructure.

In a letter to the government that was made public earlier this month, Ms. des Cars claimed that the pyramid, which has served as the galleries’ exclusive entry point since 1989, was “structurally unable to cope” with the current annual visitor volume of over nine million.

“The presentation of the Mona Lisa, in everyone’s view,” she added. is something that requires investigation.

Approximately 75% of the 30,000 visitors the museum receives each day come to view Leonardo da Vinci’s painting, but the experience has turned into a test of endurance, with a steady stream of people being pushed through the Salle des Etats for an average of 50 seconds to view and take pictures of the artwork.

The general public. has no means of understanding the artist’s work, which calls into question our entire public service mission,” Ms. des Cars wrote in her post.

The museum’s eastern facade, which currently consists of a little-used esplanade and a classical colonnade fronted by an artificial moat, will be redesigned as part of Macron’s project.

The area beneath the pyramid will be connected to the new underground exhibition spaces beneath the Cour Carré through a new entrance that will provide instant access.

The largest overhaul to the museum since President François Mitterrand’s Grand Louvre project forty years ago, Macron said the new front would complement city plans to establish a “green” area on the esplanade that is lined with trees.

It would “give it back to the Parisians” and help the museum become part of the city, he claimed.

Relocating the Mona Lisa would enable the museum to display it appropriately and facilitate the viewing of other works of art that are “too often overlooked” and on exhibit in the Salle des Etats, he continued.

Significant renovations will also be made in the upcoming years to update the infrastructure and add new restrooms, dining options, and recreational spaces.

Several hundred million euros is the estimated total cost.

Macron claimed that since the project would be financed by donations, ticket sales, and the museum’s sponsorship agreement with the Louvre Abu Dhabi, taxpayers would not be charged for it.

Since losing the French parliament six months ago, the president’s authority has been drastically reduced, and he has been looking for a new cause to ensure his legacy.

He seems to have been enticed to undertake a similar ambitious project at the Louvre by his highly acclaimed leadership in the post-fire restoration of Notre-Dame Cathedral.

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