(DON THOMPSON / iNFOnews.ca)

OPINION

I love Paris, even before my first visit to the City of Light in 1971. Like so many, I had a certain expectation. After all, Paris is - year after year - named the world’s most romantic city by virtually all who rank things romantic.

I’ve been to Paris more than a dozen times since that first trip 52 years ago. It matters little the season…or whether it’s raining or sunny. Paris has no less charm now than when I was in my early twenties…indeed, I have fallen more in love with every visit.

Asking why Paris is so evocative…what defines its romantic charms…not to put too fine a point on it…is like asking, “What’s your favourite kiss…your favourite wine…your favourite art?” Some things you simply can’t rank…it must be considered collectively. Paris is Paris…there’s no other place like it…and you are best to simply embrace it.

I would be remiss not to address the "éléphant dans la pièce.” The perception by many Americans and Canadians that French people - and particularly Parisians - are rude…is largely a mis-perception. Parisians are no more or less rude than New Yorkers or Torontonians. However, there are cultural differences many might misinterpret if they’re stuck in their conventions as they explore Paris…or anywhere else for that matter.

If you start a conversation without saying, “Bon jour, Monsieur (or Madam)” or if you assume your French waiter is the smiling, outgoing server working her way through university at your favourite Kelowna eatery…well, you’re off on the wrong foot. I could write a column…no a book…about why Parisians aren’t rude.

Parisians are more formal, more reserved than even Canadians, and certainly more so than Americans. French waiters are unobtrusive…not part of your party. They won’t give you their life story…and don’t expect to hear yours. French clerks in department stores won’t be your personal shopper…they work a maximum of 35 hours a week…mostly behind the counters as cashiers, so looking for a size 2…happy hunting.

With that introduction of Parisian romance and a brief defence of perceived French aloofness, I will now address the real topic of this column…what has happened at The Louvre…and still needs to happen?

The Louvre is the world’s most visited museum and the Salle des États - the largest room in the palace - is home to Leonardo da Vinci’s iconic Mona Lisa. Da Vinci painted the Italian noblewoman Lisa Gherardini, the wife of Francesco del Giocondo, mostly between 1503 and 1505, returning to it in 1517…but never completely finishing it.

The Mona Lisa was well known in the art world for centuries, but it really didn’t become world famous until it was stolen from The Louvre in 1911 and recovered two years later. In fact, it was not discovered missing for almost 28 hours when it was stolen.

I saw the Mona Lisa in April of 1971…on a Thursday just before museum closing. There were maybe a dozen people looking at the painting then…and I was just three feet from it for several minutes. It was dwarfed by the museum’s largest painting…“The Wedding Feast at Cana” by Paolo Veronese…at nearly 7 meters by 10 meters nearby.

Today, art lovers and those who are simply checking it off their bucket lists see it from at least 15 feet away…protected by bullet-proof glass and a guard…with special lighting. The room is more crowded than a subway platform at 5 P.M. in Mumbai.

Tourists jostle to get selfies with Mona Lisa in The Louvre.

Image Credit: Photo courtesy J. Moulin

Now the Mona Lisa has its own wall…separated from view of Veronese’s masterpiece. But without paying a special “skip the line” or V.I.P. fee of $80 to $100 CAN…you’ll likely look underneath someone’s hat brim and over someone else’s shoulder from 30 to 50 feet to see the Mona Lisa. It is less than 2 feet by 3 feet…so even as close as you can get…you need binoculars to see brush strokes.

Even so, more people have seen the Mona Lisa hanging in the Louvre than lived on Earth when Leonardo painted it. It has been the subject of books, movies, songs, plays and other pieces of art…by the thousands.

Finally, the museum has put a limit on how many people may enter the Salle des États room…30,000 a day. The Louvre’s 480,000+ works of art represent the greatest collection of art anywhere in Europe, and the palace is itself a masterpiece. 

In 2018, some 10 million visitors - 75 percent foreign tourists - crowded its floors…up 25 percent from 2017. With COVID-19 rules relaxing…the crowds are returning. Nearly 80 percent of visitors, according to The Louvre, are there for one reason only…to see the Mona Lisa.

You don’t have to spend three-hours in a winding line reminiscent of airport security and spend 60 seconds some 50 feet from the Mona Lisa to ruin your first day in Paris…but it helps. Most visitors leave disappointed…whether a serious fourth-year art major from Toronto or a selfie-seeking drop out unsure who Mona Lisa was in the first place.

Before you think I’m some art snob that believes a screening question like, “Have you ever watched the Kardashians?” be posed to potential viewers (Hmmm…actually not a terrible idea), be aware that the Mona Lisa was voted “the world’s most disappointing attraction” by thousands of Brits last year. Stand outside any Louvre exit and you can see the frowns…you don’t have to speak their languages.

The French would be wise to move the Mona Lisa to a location where there is no other art...none. Build a pavilion in nearby Tuileries. The Mona Lisa has become more pilgrimage relic than art…it is not even Leonardo da Vinci’s best work. Yet it has become the tail that wags the dog at The Louvre.

The Louvre could collect millions more Euros a year…with a building better suited for selfies. Give 90 percent of the people what they want…a selfie opportunity that proves, “I’m somebody…see my selfie with the moaning Liza!”

Trust me, romantics will always have Paris…Pont des Arts, the Eiffel Tower, Sacré-Cœur, Luxembourg garden, Place des Vosges and the Marais, the Champs Elysees, sidewalk cafes and walking in the rain.

And those who truly want to see great art…walk back to The Louvre…they have thousands of masterpieces that will take months of visits. No wonder the Mona Lisa has that cryptic smile…maybe she knew.

— Don Thompson, an American awaiting Canadian citizenship, lives in Vernon and in Florida. In a career that spans more than 40 years, Don has been a working journalist, a speechwriter and the CEO of an advertising and public relations firm. A passionate and compassionate man, he loves the written word as much as fine dinners with great wines.

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