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As French President Emmanuel Macron announces that the Mona Lisa will move into a new, dedicated room inside the Louvre, we take a look at what makes the painting so iconic
This week, French president Emmanuel Macron announced plans for the iconic Mona Lisa to get its own dedicated room inside a renovated the Louvre museum. The artwork is visited by nearly nine million people a year who flock to view Leonardo da Vinci’s 16-century masterpiece, which is considered priceless and cannot be bought or sold.
However, if it were to be sold, experts estimate it could be worth over $850 million. An Italian culture chief has called for the masterpiece to be returned to its home country following concerns about the declining condition of Paris’ Louvre Museum. The museum’s director, Laurence des Cars, revealed in a confidential memo leaked to the French press that the premises is in dire need of renovation due to various structural problems, safety concerns and flooding issues.
Francesca Caruso, the regional assessor for culture in Italy’s Lombardy region, seized upon these comments, suggesting that the masterpiece should be removed from the Louvre and instead displayed in Milan.
As the two countries fight for her ownership, it proves the woman whose eyes follow you everywhere is more than just an expensive oil painting. The Mona Lisa one of the most replicated and reinterpreted works worldwide.
Replicas of Mona Lisa date back to the 16th century, including sculptures and etchings inspired by the painting. More recently, Banksy gave his own interpretation of painting, in which Mona Lisa wore a headset (the same as the monkey protagonist in Monkey Detonator), while aiming a rocket launcher in the artist’s typical black and white stencil style.
The mural appeared in the Soho district of West London. Meanwhile, Lady Gaga has also stepped out draped in an oversized t-shirt dress adorned with the iconic painting. But what is it that has made this famous face so endurable throughout the ages?
“The Mona Lisa really is the stuff of legends,” says brand and culture expert Nick Ede. “It’s a painting of a woman who isn’t particularly beautiful. It’s small and relatively muted in colour, and really quite understated, but it has become a symbol of so many things, and probably the most famous painting in the world.
“To have its own area in the Louvre elevates it even further, from iconic status to a near religious one. She does deserve her own space away from other paintings as her lasting fame sees no sign of diminishing.”
Nick says the painting’s lasting appeal is a combination of mystery, artistry, and history. “Her smile has captivated viewers for centuries, inspiring songs and books about it. The sense of ambiguity of her smile in the artwork keeps people coming back to her and generations debating what her expression actually means.
“As a viewer we find that we can project our own emotions onto her, making the still-life painting feel personal and alive, even though it’s centuries old.”
But even by the early 20th century, according to historian Donald Sassoon, Mona Lisa was still “just a well-respected painting by a famous old master” and was “not even the most valued painting in the Louvre.” The painting’s theft on August 11, 1911, and the subsequent media frenzy surrounding the investigation and its recovery ignited public interest and led to the Mona Lisa gaining its current standing. “It was literally the best PR that she could ever wish for,” says Nick.
He adds: “The Mona Lisa is now much more than just a painting. She represents what people think of when they hear the word ‘ fine art’ but she is also now used everywhere – in pop art, on t-shirts, social media memes and for advertising.
“She has become an integral part of popular culture, with no signs that her fame is fading. Even Jay Z and Beyonce used Mona Lisa as a backdrop for their Apes**t music video!”
