Pre-coronavirus, it was estimated that some 30,000 people saw the Mona Lisa per day, giving visitors on average less than a minute with the masterpiece. While her aura remains unmistakable, seeing her amid a crowd of selfie sticks is hardly what da Vinci imagined, almost 600 years ago.
One solution to her popularity is the introduction of replicas, a policy which has gained favour once more in the museum world. Recent technological advances now mean that pieces can be replicated almost exactly, even allowing them to be restored to their original colours.
Former director of the V&A and National Museums Scotland,Sir Mark Jones, said that copies could “help us to understand and enjoy the art of the past free from the constraints imposed by conservation and security”. After all, there is no real need to socially distance from a copy of the Girl with a Pearl Earring.
The use of replicas are also supported by former director of the British Museum and the National Gallery, Sir Neil MacGregor, who says: “We could recover completely the balance [of colours], the image and the brilliance the artist wanted us to see. Technology could give us for the first time the experience the artist intended us to have.
“I would like to see The Family of Darius as it left the studio.”
Indeed, for Charles Saumarez Smith, the Royal Academy’s former chief executive, replicas may even be better than the originals. The Raphael cartoons, one of the V&A’s most significant collections, do not have the expected “aura”. He continued: “Visitors very seldom look up at them, maybe because they are behind thick glass and high up.”
When one considers the cost of insurance, security and restoration, the use of replicas in future perhaps makes sense. As Sir Neil concludes it is only in recent years that “we have come to attach particular importance to the role of the original”.
