An Italian Court Has Blocked the Loan of Leonardo da Vinci’s ‘Vitruvian Man’ to the Louvre at the Last Minute

An Italian court has thrown a big wrench into the Louvre’s plans
for its blockbuster Leonardo da Vinci exhibition marking the 500th
anniversary of the Italian artist’s death by blocking a key loan
from traveling to Paris.

The decision comes on the heels of a hail-Mary legal filing by
the heritage group Italia Nostra, which argued in documents
that Leonardo’s Vitruvian Man drawing is too
fragile to leave the country and risks being damaged by bright
exhibition lighting.

The 15th-century drawing, which can only be shown every six
years for conservation reasons, would likely be off-limits for a
decade following its return to the Accademia in Venice,
according to Italia Nostra.

“All the technical reports have advised against the transfer of
the very fragile design,” said Lidia Fersuoch, president of
the Venetian chapter of Italia Nostra, in a statement reported by
the Guardian.

This is the latest wrinkle in an ongoing saga between France and
Italy, which have been at loggerheads since the election of a
conservative coalition into Italian Parliament.

The Louvre’s Leonardo exhibition, timed to the 500th
anniversary of the Renaissance artist’s death, has been caught in the
cross-hairs of the many disagreements between the
technocratic government of French Prime Minister Emmanuel Macron
and the nativist Lega Nord and populist Five Star parties in
Italy.

At an appeals hearing scheduled for October 16, Dario
Franceschini, Italy’s minister for culture, will defend his
decision to loan the artwork. Last month, in a gesture of good will
towards France, he signed an agreement with French
counterpart Franck Riester confirming the loan and several
others, which have been in the works for months.

In return, France has agreed to lend its significant Raphael
holdings for a major anniversary show of his work in Italy. “It is
the duty of France and Italy to circulate [the works of Leonardo da
Vinci and Raphael] when technical conditions allow for
it,” Riester said during their meeting.

Franceschini’s return to Italian politics—which also has
major implications for the
country’s foreign museum directors—follows his brief exodus by
the far right, which is now facing a challenge from the
center, which survived a crucial vote of confidence last
month.

The Louvre’s hotly anticipated Leonardo show is set to run from
October 24 through February 24, 2020.

The post An Italian Court Has Blocked the Loan of Leonardo
da Vinci’s ‘Vitruvian Man’ to the Louvre at the Last Minute
appeared first on artnet News.