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From the 'Mona Lisa' to 'The Wedding Feast at Cana' - The Salle des États

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 1. Back to Home
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 3. Explore
 4. The palace

 5. From the 'Mona Lisa' to 'The Wedding Feast at Cana'


FROM THE 'MONA LISA' TO 'THE WEDDING FEAST AT CANA'THE SALLE DES ÉTATS



Portrait of Lisa Gherardini, known as the Mona Lisa in the Salle des États Room
711, Denon wing, Level 1

The world’s most famous painting, the Mona Lisa, needs a space big enough to
welcome its many admirers. It is therefore housed in the Louvre’s largest room,
the Salle des États, which is also home to other remarkable Venetian paintings
such as The Wedding Feast at Cana by Veronese.


A HOME FOR AN ICON

A superstar deserves an appropriate setting! That is why, in 1966, the Louvre
chose to show Leonardo’s masterpiece in the Salle des États, the largest room in
the palace.

Mona Lisa’s famously enigmatic smile has fascinated viewers for centuries. Among
her first admirers was King François I, who invited Leonardo da Vinci to France
and bought the painting from him in 1518. This is how the world’s most famous
painting entered the royal collections that have been shown at the Louvre since
the French Revolution.

Since 2005, the Mona Lisa has been exhibited in a protective glass case, in
solitary splendour in the centre of the room. This special treatment stems
partly from the need to ensure the safety of such a famous work, but is also due
to conservation requirements: the work was not painted on canvas, but on a panel
of poplar wood which has warped over the years, causing a crack to appear. To
prevent further damage, the Mona Lisa has to be kept in a temperature and
humidity-controlled glass case.


DID YOU KNOW?


MONA LISA

This is the most famous portrait in the world. It shows Lisa Gherardini, wife of
the Florentine silk merchant Francesco del Giocondo – hence her Italian name La
Gioconda and her French name La Joconde. Painted against a distant landscape,
she stares out at us with her famously enigmatic smile...but another aspect of
the painting that makes it so special is Leonardo da Vinci’s sfumato technique,
based on the use of glazes to create a ‘smoky’ effect with subtle contours and
contrasts. Leonardo captured the sitter turning towards the viewer in a natural
movement that brings the painting to life.

Leonardo da Vinci, Portrait of Lisa Gherardini, Wife of Francesco del Giocondo,
known as the Mona Lisa Room 711 (Salle des États), Denon wing, Level 1

MONA LISA: BEYOND THE GLASS

The virtual reality experience

Take a closer look 


THE THEFT OF THE CENTURY

On 21 August 1911, panic broke out at the Louvre…the Mona Lisa had disappeared!
The news spread like wildfire and generous rewards were promised for her return
– but all in vain. Nothing was heard of the painting for over two years. Then
one day, Vincenzo Peruggia, a glazier who had worked at the Louvre, tried to
sell the world’s most famous painting to an Italian art dealer...who alerted the
authorities. So the Mona Lisa was recovered – and her fame was all the greater.

THE LOUVRE ODYSSEY

Listen to the podcast (in French only)

THE THEFT OF THE MONA LISA

Watch with Louvre Kids


A NEW BLUE

In 2019, the Salle des États underwent the latest in a series of embellishments
when its walls were repainted a deep midnight blue, heightening the contrast
with the rich palette of reds, yellow, oranges and greens in the Venetian
masterpieces on display in this room.


A HISTORIC ROOM

The Salle des États, designed by the architect Hector Lefuel, was built between
1855 and 1857. During the Second Empire, it accommodated major legislative
sessions presided over by Napoleon III, who insisted on a lavish painted
decoration to the glory of the Empire. After his fall from power in 1870, the
room became part of the museum and was used to display 19th-century French
painting. At the beginning of the Third Republic, the architect Edmond Guillaume
adapted the room to suit its new purpose: the windows were sealed off to make
more room for the artworks and a glass ceiling was added, introducing light from
above to avoid reflections on the paintings. After World War II, the works by
French artists were replaced by Venetian paintings.


VENETIAN PAINTING

Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese…The greatest Venetian painters shared a love of
dazzling colours. Veronese’s monumental Wedding Feast at Cana fills the display
space opposite the Mona Lisa, and all around are other famous paintings! They
include Titian’s Pastoral Concert and Man with a Glove, Tintoretto’s vigorous
sketch for The Coronation of the Virgin, also known as Paradise (part of a vast
decorative scheme for the Sala del Maggiore Consiglio in the Doge’s Palace in
Venice), magnificent portraits such as Veronese’s Portrait of a Venetian Woman,
known as La Bella Nani, and many more…a burst of light and colour reflecting the
extraordinary skill of Venetian Renaissance artists.


VENETIAN PAINTING MASTERPIECES

Don’t forget to look around the Mona Lisa at the artworks by other Venetian
masters!

 * Leonardo da Vinci, Portrait of Lisa Gherardini, Wife of Francesco del
   Giocondo, known as the Mona Lisa

 * Veronese (Paolo Caliari), The Wedding Feast at Cana

 * Titian (Tiziano Vecellio), The Pastoral Concert

 * Titian (Tiziano Vecellio), Woman with a Mirror

 * Veronese (Paolo Caliari), Supper at Emmaus

 * Titian (Tiziano Vecellio), Man with a Glove

 * Veronese (Paolo Caliari), Portrait of a Venetian Woman, known as La Bella
   Nani

 * Veronese (Paolo Caliari), Jupiter Hurling Thunderbolts at the Vices

 * Titian (Tiziano Vecellio), The Virgin and Child with Saint Catherine and a
   Shepherd, known as The Madonna of the Rabbit

 * Tintoretto (Jacopo Robusti), The Coronation of the Virgin, known as Paradise

 * Veronese (Paolo Caliari), The Crucifixion

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DID YOU KNOW?


THE BIGGEST PAINTING IN THE LOUVRE

At over 6 metres high and almost 10 metres wide, The Wedding Feast at Cana is
the biggest painting in the Louvre. It depicts an extraordinary banquet with a
crowd of some 130 different characters in a blaze of light and colour.
Veronese painted the scene for the refectory of the monastery on the island of
San Giorgio Maggiore in Venice. In 1798, Napoleon’s troops confiscated the
painting and had it shipped to Paris. When the Empire fell in 1815, most of the
confiscated paintings were returned to Italy, but it was feared that the return
journey would damage this large work, which was therefore kept in exchange for a
painting by Charles Le Brun, The Feast in the House of Simon. Nonetheless,
Veronese’s huge masterpiece had to be moved twice in later years, when Paris was
at war, in 1870 and 1939.

Veronese (Paolo Caliari), The Wedding Feast at Cana Room 711 (Salle des États),
Denon wing, Level 1


MORE TO EXPLORE


ITALIAN PAINTING IN PERSPECTIVE

The Grande Galerie


IDEAL GREEK BEAUTY

Venus de Milo and the Galerie des Antiques




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