January 27, 2026
Mona Lisa vs. Moldzilla
The threat eating away at museum treasures
Curators whisper, Reddit screams: desert mold feasts as fans feud over gas, climate and ‘stolen’ art
TLDR: Dry-loving molds are quietly damaging famous artworks and relics, thriving in the low-humidity conditions museums thought were safe. Commenters are split between high-tech “put it in argon” fixes, climate-change skepticism, and sharp jabs about colonial-era “we’ll take better care of it” claims—making art preservation a full-on internet brawl.
Shhh… the museums don’t want to talk about it, but the comments do. A report says dry‑loving “desert mold” is munching through art, from Leonardo’s sketch in Turin to King Tut’s walls, thriving in air once thought safe. The author says big names dodged questions—one press office replied “no mold” in minutes, another allegedly blocked the number—and the crowd smelled a cover‑up.
The community instantly split into camps. The “sci‑fi vault” crowd wants oxygen‑free storage and inert gas drawers—basically put the Mona Lisa in a space pod—and jokes flew about argon Tupperware and fireproof sarcophagi. Others went for the jugular: if museums won’t even admit mold, how can they claim they care better than the countries they took artifacts from? That repatriation vs. stewardship debate got heated fast.
Then came the climate fight. The line that stigma and climate change helped spread these xerophiles set one commenter off with a blunt “vomit,” sparking a back‑and‑forth over whether warming air or bad maintenance is to blame. Meanwhile, science nerds loved the twist that decades of heavy biocides may have caused a “microbiome meltdown,” wiping out friendly microbes and letting tougher molds run wild—like the gut after antibiotics. Drama, memes, and mold: the internet’s favorite trilogy.
Key Points
- •Xerophilic (dry-loving) molds are increasingly affecting museums, thriving in low humidity once considered protective for collections.
- •Institutional stigma and fears about funding and reputation have led many museums to avoid openly discussing mold infestations.
- •Researchers report that conservation practices optimized for humidity-sensitive molds may inadvertently foster xerophiles; climate change may further aid their spread.
- •Xerophilic molds are hard to detect with conventional methods, but new approaches are helping identify and explain infestations.
- •Notable reported cases include stains on Leonardo da Vinci’s self-portrait in Turin and blotches in King Tut’s burial chamber in Luxor.