Mona Lisa moved within Louvre; Da Vinci's renowned painting shifted for first time since 2005

The Mona Lisa, Leonardo Da Vinci’s masterpiece, was moved within the Louvre on the night of 16 July to renovate her room. The Renaissance painting has been on display in the Salle des États at the museum in Paris since 2005. However, with the renovation underway, the work will be housed in the adjoining Medici gallery until October 2019 just before the museum opens its Leonardo exhibit. Agence France Press (AFP) noted that the fragile 500-year old painting is very rarely handled and will be kept under the protection of bullet-proof glass in its temporary home. The crown jewel of the museum, the portrait of a Florentine noble, was done on a thin panel of poplar, which has buckled over time. [caption id=“attachment_7016131” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Leonardo Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa will be temporarily moved within the Louvre while Room 711 undergoes renovation. Image via Wikimedia Commons[/caption] The Louvre, which has witnessed an unprecedented rise in tourists over the last three decades, has been under renovation for the last five years. According to the BBC, the museum says that more than 34,000 sq metres have been renovated so far, including 17, 579 sq metres of gallery space. While work on Room 711, the home of La Jaconde, began in January 2019, the report added that the renovators will now be tackling the wall behind the painting resulting in its temporary relocation. The 16th century work is being moved for the first time in 14 years, and according to the museum’s director Jean-Luc Martinez, will be carried less than “100 paces” away to the Galerie Médicis, AFP reported. Louvre holds the largest collection of Da Vinci’s work and the Salle des États is undoubtedly one of the most visited spots in the museum. Mona Lisa seldom leaves her home. She last travelled in 1974 to Russia and Japan and had crossed the Atlantic only once in 1964 to be showcased in the United States.