PARIS (AP) – French President Emmanuel Macron recently announced 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 a decade.
The renovation project, branded “Louvre New Renaissance,” will include a wide new entrance near the Seine River, to be opened by 2031, Macron said in a speech from the room where Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece is displayed. Macron didn’t disclose an exact amount budgeted for the project to modernise the world’s most visited museum, which is plagued with overcrowding and outdated facilities. But it’s estimated to reach up to EUR800 million (USD834 million).
The Louvre’s last overhaul dates back to the 1980s, when the iconic glass pyramid was unveiled.
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 experience of other visitors in the rest of the museum, he said.
MOVE DESIGNED TO MAKE LOUVRE EXPERIENCE EASIER
“Conditions of display, explanation and presentation will be up to what the ‘Mona Lisa’ deserves,” he said.
Leonardo’s masterpiece is now being shown behind protective glass in the museum’s largest room, overcrowded with long, noisy lines of visitors eager to take a selfie with the groundbreaking portrait of the woman with the enigmatic smile. That makes some other paintings in the room by Venetian painters like Titian and Veronese go unnoticed by many.
The museum’s big renovation in the 1980s was designed to receive four million annual visitors.
Last year, the Louvre received 8.7 million visitors, more than 75 per cent being foreigners mostly from the United States (US), China and neighbouring countries Italy, the United Kingdom (UK), Germany and Spain.
COSTLY AND COMPLEX OVERHAUL
Macron said that a new entrance for the Louvre will be created near the Seine by 2031, to be financed by ticket sales, patronage and licensing money from the museum’s Abu Dhabi branch.
A design competition will be staged in the coming months, he said. In addition, some new underground rooms will be created to expand the museum.
A French top official said that the cost of the renovation is estimated at EUR700 to EUR800 million (USD730 to USD834 million) over the next decade, including half for the creation of the new entrance. The official couldn’t be named in line with the French presidency’s customary practices.
Macron said that ticket prices would be raised for foreign visitors from outside the European Union, up from EUR22 (USD23) now. He promised the museum would be safer and more comfortable for both the public and employees. – Sylvie Corbet
