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This article was originally published on Le Point.
On February 9, 1498, at a fancy dinner in Milan at the Sforzas’ house, Leonardo da Vinci impressed the crowd with a speech that presented painting as the most complete expression of liberal arts, transcending poetry, music and sculpture. Why? by Frenchly.
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| Leonardo da Vinci. "The Virgin and Child with St. Anne" Photo: Wikimedia Commons / Public domain |
It is this definition of painting that da Vinci tries to apply, from his very first steps as an apprentice in the studio of the great Florentine artist Andrea Verrochio. He will not only draw a flower or a beautiful body, but he will always look further to understand the organization of muscles, the secrets of the balance of forces, the movements of water or air. It is this quest that the Louvre wants to highlight during the retrospective organized for the 500th anniversary of the artist’s death in Amboise, on May 2, 1519. The exhibit, open October 24, 2019 to February 24, 2020 (get tickets here), aims to show how in all of his work, da Vinci attempted to produce the most beautiful, the most perfect painting.
A challenge.
For Vincent Delieuvin and Louis Frank,
the two curators of the exhibition “Leonardo da Vinci,” the task might
seem simple. Consider the aspect of getting the loans of works not
belonging to the Louvre, which already owns many of them, including “The
Mona Lisa,” the most famous painting in the world. How can you refuse
to participate in such an event, and with such a museum? Owners, private
or institutional, could consider this loan an honor.
But it wasn’t that simple. Firstly, the quality of the works proved problematic. A researcher at heart, the artist left behind paintings that are often sublime, but which have not stood the test of time, hence the reluctance of museum managers to make them travel. The Louvre is the first to be affected by this problem: of the five paintings signed by da Vinci in its possession, only “La belle ferronnière” and “Saint Jean-Baptiste” can still leave the walls, the others are under house arrest, starting with “The Mona Lisa,” whose wood is cracked. It’s for these reasons that the Florence offices have kept “The Annunciation” from the exhibition...
But it wasn’t that simple. Firstly, the quality of the works proved problematic. A researcher at heart, the artist left behind paintings that are often sublime, but which have not stood the test of time, hence the reluctance of museum managers to make them travel. The Louvre is the first to be affected by this problem: of the five paintings signed by da Vinci in its possession, only “La belle ferronnière” and “Saint Jean-Baptiste” can still leave the walls, the others are under house arrest, starting with “The Mona Lisa,” whose wood is cracked. It’s for these reasons that the Florence offices have kept “The Annunciation” from the exhibition...
Tribulations.
As private insurers asked lenders to estimate the value of the works themselves, some institutions didn’t hesitate to value a drawing by da Vinci at 450 million euros. A theoretical, mathematical exercise, certainly, but one that is very expensive in the event of an accident. So, even if the French government is its own insurer, the risk is enormous. Above all, there is a growing tendency for countrys to stick the label “national treasure” on the master’s works. Such is the case with the “Dame à l’hermine,” which was owned by the Czartoryski family and kept by the post-World War II communist regime in a small museum in Krakow, until its status was changed in 2016 when it was acquired by the Polish state. When asked if he was ready to send this painting to the Louvre, the Polish Minister of Culture replied: “I will lend it if the Louvre will lend us ‘The Mona Lisa’” … Deadlock.
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Source: Frenchly
