French President Emmanuel Macron introduced Tuesday that the “Mona Lisa” will get its personal devoted room contained in the Louvre museum underneath a serious renovation and enlargement of the Paris landmark that may take as much as a decade.
The renovation mission, branded “Louvre New Renaissance,” will embody a large new entrance close to the Seine River, to be opened by 2031, Macron stated in a speech from the room the place Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece is displayed.
PURPORTED EARLIER VERSION OF DA VINCI’S ‘MONA LISA’ WOWS ART LOVERS AFTER GOING ON DISPLAY
Macron did not disclose a precise quantity budgeted for the mission to modernize the world’s most visited museum, which is plagued with overcrowding and outdated amenities. However it’s estimated to achieve as much as 800 million euros ($834 million).
The Louvre’s final overhaul dates again to the Eighties, when the enduring glass pyramid was unveiled.
A have a look at what’s at stake:
Transfer designed to make Louvre expertise simpler
Macron stated the enlargement of the museum will permit the “Mona Lisa” to be moved to a brand new, devoted room accessible to guests by way of a particular ticket. That can make the go to easier for many who need to see the portray and ease the expertise of different guests in the remainder of the museum, he stated.
French President Emmanuel Macron offers a speech to announce a multi-year overhaul, long-term investments to modernize the Louvre museum, subsequent to Leonardo da Vinci’s portray of the Mona Lisa, on the Louvre Museum, Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025 in Paris. (Bertrand Guay, Pool by way of AP)
“Situations of show, clarification and presentation will likely be as much as what the ‘Mona Lisa’ deserves,” he stated.
Leonardo’s masterpiece is now being proven behind protecting glass within the museum’s largest room, overcrowded with lengthy, noisy traces of tourists desirous to take a selfie with the groundbreaking portrait of the girl with the enigmatic smile. That makes another work within the room by Venetian painters like Titian and Veronese go unnoticed by many.
The museum’s massive renovation within the Eighties was designed to obtain 4 million annual guests.
Final yr, the Louvre acquired 8.7 million guests, greater than 75% being foreigners largely from america, China and neighboring international locations Italy, the U.Ok., Germany and Spain.
Pricey and complicated overhaul
Macron stated {that a} new entrance for the Louvre will likely be created close to the Seine by 2031, to be financed by ticket gross sales, patronage and licensing cash from the museum’s Abu Dhabi department.
A design competitors will likely be staged within the coming months, he stated. As well as, some new underground rooms will likely be created to develop the museum.
A French high official stated that the price of the renovation is estimated at 700 to 800 million euros ($730 to 834 million) over the following decade, together with half for the creation of the brand new entrance. The official could not be named in step with the French presidency’s customary practices.
Macron stated that ticket costs could be raised for overseas guests from outdoors the European Union, up from 22 euros ($23) now. He promised the museum could be safer and extra comfy for each the general public and workers.
Evaluating the mission to Notre Dame’s current reopening, Macron stated that “the redesigned Louvre, restored and expanded, will turn out to be the epicenter of artwork historical past for our nation and past.”
Half the Louvre’s funds is being financed by the French authorities, together with the wages of the two,200 workers.
The opposite half is offered by personal funds together with ticket gross sales, earnings from eating places, outlets and bookings for particular occasions, in addition to patrons and different companions.
Water leaks and different injury
The renovation announcement got here after Louvre Director Laurence des Vehicles expressed her considerations in a word to Tradition Minister Rachida Dati earlier this month saying that the museum is threatened by “obsolescence.”
In keeping with the doc first launched by French newspaper Le Parisien, she warned concerning the gradual degradation of the constructing due to water leaks, temperature variations and different points “endangering the preservation of artworks.”
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The pyramid that serves on the museum’s entrance, unveiled in 1989 as a part of late President François Mitterrand’s mission, now seems outdated. The place is not correctly insulated from the chilly and the warmth, and it tends to amplify noise, making the area uncomfortable for each the general public and the employees, des Vehicles stated.
As well as, the museum suffers from an absence of meals choices and restroom amenities, she stated.