'Mona Lisa' gets change of scenery

PARIS — The world's most enigmatic smile has had a change of scene, as the Louvre shifted Leonardo da Vinci's "Mona Lisa" to a larger, renovated section of the museum.

The 500-year-old painting's new home is the Salle des Etats, which has undergone a four-year, $6.1 million makeover designed by Peruvian architect Lorenzo Piqueras.

"It's completely new, completely different," Louvre spokeswoman Veronique Petitjean said.

The Salle de Etats offers more space for the 6 million people who visit the museum each year to view "Mona Lisa," which previously was in the much smaller Salle Rosa. The painting will still be protected by unbreakable, non-reflective glass.

About 50 other 16th-century Italian paintings, including the Louvre's largest painting — "The Wedding Feast at Cana" by Veronesi — will also be displayed in the Salle des Etats. The famous portrait, believed to be of Lisa Gherardini, the wife of an obscure Florentine merchant, was painted between 1503 and 1506 on a thin panel of wood.

Da Vinci brought "Mona Lisa" to France in 1517. It has been in the Louvre since 1804. Curators announced last year that the painting was beginning to show signs of warping and would undergo scientific analysis. It is removed from its case once a year, so experts can monitor its deterioration.