Should the Mona Lisa Be Cleaned?
- 11 years ago
Recently, CNN’s Nick Glass investigated the very delicate matter of whether or not it’s high time to clean the Mona Lisa.
Recently, CNN’s Nick Glass investigated the very delicate matter of whether or not it’s high time to clean the Mona Lisa.
After all, the painting is around 500 years old.
For the past century it’s been hanging at the Louvre, and for much of that it was unshielded from the elements tracked in by the gallery’s millions of annual visitors.
According to one of the museum’s curators, restorations can be a tricky undertaking, so the decision to do one is not taken lightly.
Just because the painting’s ready for a good cleaning, doesn’t mean the public is.
People are used to the way she looks, and restoring the Mona Lisa to her off-the-easel condition could result in quite a bit of backlash.
Among the biggest changes would be that the brownish hues lent to the painting by its aging varnish would give way to the more vivid colors beneath.
Historically, changes that drastic don’t always end well for those involved, and have resulted in public uprisings and lost jobs.
Museum experts have admitted that eventually it will have to happen, but they’re just not sure when a good time for that would be.
Recently, CNN’s Nick Glass investigated the very delicate matter of whether or not it’s high time to clean the Mona Lisa.
After all, the painting is around 500 years old.
For the past century it’s been hanging at the Louvre, and for much of that it was unshielded from the elements tracked in by the gallery’s millions of annual visitors.
According to one of the museum’s curators, restorations can be a tricky undertaking, so the decision to do one is not taken lightly.
Just because the painting’s ready for a good cleaning, doesn’t mean the public is.
People are used to the way she looks, and restoring the Mona Lisa to her off-the-easel condition could result in quite a bit of backlash.
Among the biggest changes would be that the brownish hues lent to the painting by its aging varnish would give way to the more vivid colors beneath.
Historically, changes that drastic don’t always end well for those involved, and have resulted in public uprisings and lost jobs.
Museum experts have admitted that eventually it will have to happen, but they’re just not sure when a good time for that would be.