
Leonardo da Vinci’s world-famous Mona Lisa might go on tour in France.
The Louvre Museum is famous for fiercely protecting its iconic Leonardo da Vinci masterpiece, Mona Lisa. Since the painting came to the museum back in 1804, it has only left its home in Paris on very few occasions. Moreover, over the past 44 years, it has never left the museum.
However, according to some reports, that thing might soon change. Françoise Nyssen, the French culture minister, recently explained that she takes into consideration taking the Mona Lisa on tour around the country.
Mona Lisa to Leave the Louvre, But Where?
In a radio interview, Nyssen said that she is currently discussing the strategy with the Louvre’s president. They reportedly want to make the masterpiece part of a traveling exhibition dedicated to France’s most celebrated art pieces.
At the moment, nobody knows if Nyssen is also planning on sending the famous painting outside the country as well.
History tells us that Leonardo da Vinci began his work on the Mona Lisa back in 1503 or 1504, in Florence. He finally finished it after moving to France in 1516. After the artist’s death in 1519, the French king François bought the painting and hung it at a gallery in the Fontainebleau Palace.
In the 19th century, Mona Lisa spent a lot of years hanging in Napoleon’s bedroom in Tuileries. After that, it finally came to the Louvre. It has left the museum on a few occasions since then, the first being in 1911.
At the time, an Italian worker took it to bring it back to Italy. Two years later, the painting reached Florence once again. A few years later, in 1963, it went on loan to the United States.
In 1974, it even travelled as far as Japan and Russia. Back in 2013, the city of Florence sent a request to the Louvre to bring the painting back to his birthplace. The Louvre museum rejected this proposal.
Image source: MaxPixel