Two weeks back, Louvre museum received an anonymous email threatening a bomb blast to destroy the Mona Lisa and a few other masterpieces. Well, it is not for the first time. Half a dozen threats have already raided the Mona Lisa in recent past.
Sometimes, bomb, sometimes pumpkin soup!
It all began with the theft of 1911. The museum worker, Vincenzo Peruggia, stole the masterpiece, only to be caught after two years, when he tried to sell the painting to an Italian Art Dealer. When interrogated, he said that he was actually being patriotic. He was trying to get the painting of the Italian master back to its homeland, Italy. He was sent to jail for about a year only, thanks to his patriotic spirit.
But the entire world learned about Mona Lisa which was almost an obscure piece of painting until then.
This resulted in a craze to see the masterpiece. Today, most people visit the museum to take a selfie with the Mona Lisa showing behind them. They want to carry the proof that they had been there. The footfall goes up to more than 10 million, annually. Just from the entry fee, the museum earns almost 300 million US Dollar every year. Well, this is based on the data of pre-pandemic days.
Of course, Mona Lisa is a true masterpiece of Leonardo Da Vinci but hardly anybody really knows the reasons that make it special because most of the artistic reasons vanished long ago due to repeated restoration. Nobody could see such fine aspects in almost a century.
But in the end, Mona Lisa is a money-making machine too, for Louvre.
The trouble for most museums across the globe is the lack of recovery of footfalls after the pandemic was over. Hence, the earnings of Louvre too shrunk significantly since it peak in 2018. In the chart, the footfalls are shown in the recent past.
In this situation, just like the past, another bomb threat does more good than harm. After all, the basis of Mona Lisa's fame is rooted in its being victim of criminal attack. Another threat holds the potential to inject spirit into public curiosity and hence footfall.
It may be a real hoax anyway. After all, nothing happened beyond a rapid evacuation of tourists from the museum. But in the end, the anonymous email will definitely enhance the topline of Louvre.
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