Mona Lisa, Louvre – Paris, France

Any coverage of the Louvre won’t be complete without its arguably most famous work of art, the Mona Lisa. As you can see, it is very popular. I eschewed making a conventional picture of it, opting to create a street photograph of the tourists crowding around the artwork star.

But why is the Mona Lisa so famous? Is it because it’s an incredible work of art by Leonard da Vinci? I’ll leave it to the art experts to debate that. However, the story of the painting’s popularity is entertaining. A piece titled “How the Mona Lisa became so overrated” explains the history and its rise to stardom — due mainly to a forgotten critic and robbery.

Indeed, it was already popular in the 1980s when I first saw this painting. However, the piece hung in the main gallery next to the others, albeit with an extra protective glass layer. Now, as you can see from this image, the Mona Lisa is practically an exhibit by itself.

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