The Mona Lisa will not move from the Louvre: the decision of the director of the Paris museum

In the face of French Culture Minister Françoise Nyssen ’s intention, announced at the beginning of the new year, to have the Mona Lisa travel and be displayed from museum to museum in support of a fight against cultural segregation, controversy and debate have been unleashed.

The final decision came from Louvre director Jean-Luc Martinez, who firmly advanced his position: the famous painting by Leonardo da Vinci will not move from the Paris museum that has long housed it.

The work is so delicate that it is impossible merely to think of moving it from one floor of the museum to another. And even more unthinkable to move it from one museum to another. According to Martinez, moving the Mona Lisa “could cause irreversible damage.”

The painting will also not take part in the Louvre ’s exhibition dedicated to Leonardo that will be held in 2019 to mark the 500th anniversary of the great artist’s death.

Since 2005, the masterpiece has been stored in a temperature-controlled case with bulletproof glass: an extremely controlled environment. A transport respecting these conditions would be very complicated and risky: in 2006 an analysis revealed a crack in the wooden panel, and a change in temperature could cause the irreparable.

Image: Leonardo da Vinci, The Mona Lisa (1503-1513; oil on panel, 77 x 53 cm; Paris, Louvre)

The Mona Lisa will not move from the Louvre: the decision of the director of the Paris museum

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