Leonardo’s Mona Lisa, arguably the world’s most famous painting, is back on duty at the Louvre, providing an elegant backdrop for thousands of selfies, and the Louvre promises that almost everyone who visits her will have a chance at that, with a new queuing system and new non-reflective glass.
The painting has been off display for cleaning for ten months, undoubtedly a disappointment to many visitors; it’s been estimated that 80% of the museum’s 10 million plus visitors come only to see the painting. In the past, many have been disappointed even when it was there; because of crowds, the museum admits, “Only the tallest or most persevering managed to get to the painting.”
The new line-up will bring all visitors face-to-face with the painting, but will keep the line moving more rapidly; so far, museum guards are allowing about 30 seconds apiece for visitors to take a look, take a picture, and move on.
Sadly, as other visitors have noted, many museums have become places where people take pictures of pictures rather than looking at pictures, and Mona Lisa is certainly the queen of that.
Photo: Russell Yarwood/Wikimedia
