KEY POINTS:
Is she a masterpiece of Renaissance art or a money-spinning popular franchise?
The Louvre in Paris is tying itself up in knots over what to do about the Mona Lisa, the biggest lure for the eight million visitors who visit the museum each year.
The problem lies in whether the crowds that gather in front of the tiny portrait, displayed in a new, purpose-built gallery, should be allowed to take pictures.
The question is not about the use of camera flash - Leonardo da Vinci's painting is hung behind special glass that filters harmful light - but about whether pictures should be taken at all.
The Louvre, a stiff-backed guardian of the arts, established a no-picture policy for "La Joconde" in 2005. It said the crowds who wanted a snapshot of themselves in front of the world's most famous painting were turning the room into a circus, spoiling the pleasure of others.
But the toll of imposing a ban on the millions of happy-snapper visitors, many of whom do not speak French, has been gruelling. Earlier this year, Louvre staff went on strike, demanding a bonus for policing photographers.
"It's impossible to enforce," said one. "You can't go around all the time telling people not to take pictures."
In June, without fanfare, the Louvre suspended the policy - and hordes of Japanese, Americans, Chinese, Germans and others now cluster around the picture, taking photos.
The art-lovers are aghast not only at the disturbance but at how the Mona Lisa has been plunged, as they see it, into Disneyland vulgarity.
"No one was told about it, it just happened one day," said an English-speaking tourist guide who escorts top-end visitors around the Louvre.
"All of a sudden, everyone was taking pictures.
"It shows a complete lack of respect, it's embarrassing for me when I take clients around, it reflects poorly on the Mona Lisa and on France's image."
Anne Krebs, in charge of planning at the Louvre, says the museum finds itself facing a dilemma familiar to Europe's other great temples of the arts..
"Some large museums have recently opted for a ban whereas others, such as the British Museum in London, believe it helps the general public gain access to culture," Krebs said.
"The whole question is what kind of image one wants to give to the museum but, at the same time, take into account the wishes of the public and staff."
Krebs said the policy would be reassessed at the end of summer.
