Louvre president calls for better display of Mona Lisa

The most famous portrait in the world is to have its own room in the museum – according to the director – and discussions are ongoing with the Ministry of Culture

One room for the Mona Lisa – this is the proposal supported by the head of the Louvre Museum in Paris, Laurence de Carre. “For me, the answer is yes and I think a lot of other people say yes too and we are thinking about it,” De Cars responded to France Inter on Saturday when asked if it was a masterpiece. Leonardo da Vinci should have his own hall.

Des Cars said it is “always frustrating” when the conditions for displaying an artwork are not ideal. This is currently the case with the Mona Lisa. The museum director added: Therefore, “in coordination with the Ministry of Culture, we are thinking about this improvement, which seems necessary to me today.”

The Mona Lisa is considered the most famous painting in the world. According to Des Cars, 80% of the Louvre's approximately nine million visitors annually do not miss a look at the picture. Every day, more than 20,000 visitors stand in front of the Mona Lisa and take selfies with their mobile phones.

The painting hangs, protected by bulletproof glass, in the Hall of States, the largest room in the Louvre, where the museum's largest painting, “The Wedding of Cana” by Paolo Veronese, also hangs. Other works by Venetian masters from the 16th century are also on display.