The Louvre has a mail slot near the display of Leonardo da Vinci's 1503 portrait titled Mona Lisa. That's where you can deposit mail for the painting itself! No one knows for sure when the mail box was installed, but it goes back to the 19th century. And yes, people write letters to the painting. Some of the letters are directed to the artist, some to Lisa Gherardini, the subject of the painting, and some to the Louvre, and all are saved in the Louvre's extensive archives. The biggest portion of these letters are fan mail, complimenting da Vinci on his work and expressing how it affected them. But Gherardini receives compliments, love letters, and the occasional marriage proposal, despite the fact that she's been dead for hundreds of years. People also ask questions of da Vinci, which he could probably answer if he were still available. You can write to the painting as well, with an address found in an article about the mail slot at ArtNet. -via Metafilter
(Image credit: Akifukami)
