French President Emmanuel Macron, standing in front of Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece in the Louvre on Tuesday, the 28th of January, presented his “New Renaissance” project and unveiled plans to move the Mona Lisa to a separate room as part of a major renovation of the world’s most visited museum, saying the change would be in place by 2031 and visitors would pay to see the painting separately, report the BBC and Politico.
Ticketing changes will also be introduced from January next year, so non-EU nationals, including UK tourists, will pay more to visit the museum.
“At a time when immediate and powerful rhetoric seems to have a hypnotic power… talking about long-term issues, culture and the arts is one of the messages France can send to the world,” said Macron, who celebrated his first presidential victory in front of the Louvre Pyramid.
The “New Renaissance” project will also include an international call for tenders for a second entrance to alleviate the growing pressure of visitors under the famous glass pyramid as the Louvre faces problems with its ageing infrastructure.
In a letter to the government made public earlier this month, the Louvre’s director said the pyramid, which has welcomed visitors since 1989, was “structurally unable to cope” with the number of visitors, which now stands at more than nine million a year.
She also said that the presentation of the Mona Lisa should be reviewed because the public cannot fully appreciate the artist’s work.
About three quarters of the museum’s 30 000 visitors a day go to see Leonardo da Vinci’s painting,
but experience has become a test of strength as the constant crowds are directed through the museum’s State Hall and people are given an average of 50 seconds to look at the painting and take photographs.
Macron’s project involves transforming the east facade of the Louvre, which currently has a classical colonnade and a little-used esplanade. The new entrance will lead to underground exhibition spaces connected to the area under the pyramid. The redesign, the most ambitious transformation since the Grand Louvre project 40 years ago, will also create a “green” area with trees on the esplanade. Macron said this would help integrate the museum into the city and make it more accessible to Parisians.
He added that moving the Mona Lisa from its current location will allow the museum to display it properly and make it easier to see the other “too often overlooked” masterpieces on display in the State Hall.
Extensive renovation work will also be carried out in the coming years to modernise the infrastructure and provide new toilets, a restaurant and lounges.
The total cost is estimated at several hundred million euros.
Macron said the project would cost taxpayers nothing as it would be financed by ticket sales, donations and the museum’s sponsorship agreement with the Louvre Abu Dhabi.
But many museum staff say the money should be spent on much-needed refurbishments before new construction begins. A report in Le Parisien on Wednesday detailed the museum’s poor state, listing a number of problems such as extreme temperatures and water problems that threaten the condition of the artworks on display.
Macron acknowledged that the Louvre faces difficulties due to its ageing environs but pointed out that the new entrance should be a priority given the high number of visitors.