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Louvre: Mona Lisa deteriorating quickly
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-04-27 09:01 The Mona Lisa, Leonardo da
Vinci's masterpiece of a mysterious woman with a slight smile, is deteriorating
quickly, the Louvre Museum said Monday, announcing that an in-depth technical
study was being conducted to determine why.
Tourists take
pictures of Leonardo De Vinci's Mona Lisa behind her protective glass at
the Louvre Museum in Paris in this March 27, 1998 file photo. The Mona
Lisa's thin poplar wood panel has undergone a significant deformation
since conservation experts last evaluated the painting, the Louvre said in
a statement. The Louvre said the condition of the Mona Lisa was causing
'some worry' and that a new study on the state of the work has been
launched. [AP] | The thin, poplar wood panel on
which the artwork is painted has become deformed since conservation experts last
evaluated the condition of the painting, the Louvre said. The artwork is
inspected every 1-2 years.
The Louvre said the condition of the Mona Lisa was causing "some worry" and
that a new study has been launched, but one that will allow the painting to
remain in the public eye.
"These analyses will take place in such a way as to allow the work to remain
on public display," the Louvre said in a statement.
The study, to be conducted by the Center for Research and Restoration of
Museums of France, is to better determine what materials the painting is made of
and evaluate its vulnerability to climate changes.
The most famous painting in the world, the Mona Lisa is seen by nearly every
one of the millions of visitors who set foot in the Louvre, according to
spokeswoman Veronique Petitjean.
"We have 6 million visitors," said Veronique Petitjean. "Everybody sees it."
Experts believe the Mona Lisa, also known in Italian as La Gioconda, was
painted over a long period beginning about 1505.
The admiration that the painting has endured throughout the ages is
attributed to a number of factors: fascination with da Vinci's genius and
persona; the artwork's stunning realism and technique; the mystery of the Mona
Lisa's true identity; and the twists and turns in its history.
In 1911, an Italian painter stole the painting from the Louvre to get it back
into Italian hands. After a lengthy police inquiry, which involved a long list
of suspects including French poet Guillaume Apollinaire, the painting surfaced
in Italy two years after it disappeared.
The theft was splashed across newspaper front pages around the world, helping
to raise the artwork's fame even further.
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