Italy Threatens Not to Lend the Louvre Its Works by Leonardo da Vinci

The previous Italian government agreed to lend them in 2017 so that they could form part of the major exhibition the French museum had scheduled for 2019, intended to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the death of the Florentine artist and man of science.

Saint Jerome (Leonardo da Vinci) is one of the works in question. At Musei Vaticani

The current Italian government finds itself in the eye of the storm over this piece of news, which has stirred up keen anticipation among millions of admirers of Leonardo da Vinci. In 2017 the previous Italian minister of culture, Dario Franceschini, reached an agreement with the French government and the Louvre Museum to lend the Gallic country some of the most famous and emblematic works by the Renaissance genius, currently owned by institutions such as the Vatican Museums and the Uffizi Galleries. However, in November 2018 Lucia Borgonzoni (under-secretary to the current minister of culture, Alberto Bonisoli) declared the loan of most of the works cancelled. According to the under-secretary, four of the requested paintings (The Annunciation, the Adoration of the Magi, the Baptism of Christ and Saint Jerome) are catalogued as “extremely fragile” and their loan has been expressly prohibited since 2009.

La Scapigliata, Leonardo da Vinci. At Artnet.com

The only painting that would now travel to France with the blessing of the Italian cabinet would be La Scapigliata (Head of a Girl, National Gallery of Parma), whose transport is considered safe. The Italian Ministry of Culture’s decision could wreck one of the French government’s flagship projects for this year: the largest exhibition organized to date of works and pieces by Leonardo da Vinci, which would take place from 24 October 2019 to 24 February 2020. A show that would display a total of seventeen paintings by the artist and a great many drawings, along with a carefully chosen selection of sculptures. Even so, the Louvre Museum and the French government have not yet lost hope: Borgonzoni told The Telegraph that the loan is open to renegotiation “always in the spirit of mutual respect, which has been absent in recent years.”

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