The French president, Emmanuel Macron, also announced a ‘new grand entrance’, funded by the museum’s own resources

The Mona Lisa, the world’s most famous portrait, is to get a room of its own in the Louvre, as the world’s most visited museum undergoes major new renovation after its director warned that visiting the overcrowded building had become a “physical ordeal”.

Delivering a speech in front of Leonardo da Vinci’s 16th century masterpiece, the French president, Emmanuel Macron, said he felt “humbled” to be in the presence of the Mona Lisa and announced that the portrait would be given its own “special space” within the Louvre.