In response to the economic crisis caused by Covid-19, Stéphane Distinguin, founder of the technology company Fabernovel, suggested that France sell Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa.
Mona Lisa is one of the most valuable paintings in art history and is considered a masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance; described as "the most famous, most visited, most enigmatic and most talked about painting in history". In 1962, Mona Lisa broke the Guinness World Record for the highest rating ever, at $ 100 million, or about $ 650 million today.
"Day after day, we count the billions lost as children throwing stones into the well to see how deep it is," Distinguin told Usbek & Rica magazine. "We are still counting and the crisis is unbearable."
He added that the paintings are easily removable. "We have a lot of paintings," he said. In 2020 we have to find money where we can. So we sell the family jewel. I think Mona Lisa is worth at least 50 billion euros. "
Among other things, he suggested that France and the Louvre Museum allow the Mona Lisa to be easily exchanged between nations. "It simply came to our notice then. Legally and technically, this solution would have many advantages and would allow France and the Louvre to control painting. ?
According to Google searches, Mona Lisa is one of the 10 most popular paintings in the world, ranked first, followed by Da Vinci's "Last Supper" and Van Gogh's "Starry Night".
