The Louvre Museum, Salle des Etats

Built by Lefuel, the “Room of the States” is the largest and most prestigious of the Louvre Museum.
It was intended to accommodate, since 1859, the great legislative meetings under Napoleon III.
Reunited with the museum in 1878, it loses its allegorical decoration and shelters the French painting of the XIXth century.

After four years of work, the project was achieved thanks to the support of the Japanese Television Network Corporation, and the Salle des Etats finally, opened its doors to the public on April 6th, 2005.
It proposes a dialogue between the Portrait of the Mona LISA, known as la Joconda (1503-1506) by Léonard de Vinci (1452-1519) and the Wedding at Cana by Véronèse (Paolo Caliari, known as: 1528-1588).
They are surrounded by the collection of the Louvre Venetian painting of XVIth century.
These major works are presented together under a unique skylight, imagined by architect Lorenzo Piqueras, which allows to diffuse a light very close to natural light.

All and every walls, as well as the media partition created to support the Jonconda are made out of a metal structure ("wire-lath") on which was projected first a rough-trimming plaster then a finish stuc (approximately 1 cm or 3/8 inch per layer).
The later is a plaster & lime, in a sienna earth color, smoothed and then waxed.

Technical aside : Waxing must be done on a perfectly dry coating.

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