It will now be up to the French Council of State to express its opinion on the issue. And, even if the request is rejected, as reported by La Nazione, the association representing the Genius’ descendants has already expressed its intention to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights
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An appeal to the Council of State of France, to request the return of the Mona Lisa to the fourteen alleged direct descendants of Leonardo Da Vinci. It almost seems like a joke or a social meme, but it’s all true. In recent days, as reported by La Nazione, the International Restitutions association, which presents itself as an NGO “whose statutory purpose is to guarantee the legality of the composition of public museum collections”, has presented a legal case to request the restitution of the Mona Lisa, probably the most famous work of art in the world, today exhibited at the Louvre Museum in Paris where every day it is seen by 15 thousand to 20 thousand visitors. Meanwhile, the transalpine justice system has already registered the act in question last February. But on what assumptions is the legal action based?
The cause of Leonardo’s descendants
The association announced in a statement that it was acting on behalf of Leonardo’s fourteen heirs identified a few years ago by scholars Alessandro Vezzosi and Agnese Sabato. At the moment little information is known about them, such as the fact that they live in Tuscany, but their names have not been disclosed nor their specific origin. The position supported by International Restitutions points the finger at the acquisition of the Mona Lisa by the King of France Francis I, which according to the association essentially took place illegally. The reason? First of all because there is no deed certifying the sale or donation of the painting. And then because, again according to the organisation, the French sovereign actually appropriated the work thanks to the “albinage right”. This is a law in force in 16th century France which ensured that the assets of foreign citizens who died without children on French territory – as in the case of the Genie – were inherited by the crown.
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The decision of the French Council of State
It will now be up to the French Council of State to express its opinion on the issue. “The Mona Lisa actually belongs to Leonardo’s descendants – argued Robert Casanovas, professor and president of International Restiturions – the first act of appropriation by Francis I under the cover of the right of albinage is legally non-existent. And it cannot produce any effect, nor create any right for the benefit of the French State.” In support of his position, the professor cited the incompatibility of the methods of acquiring the work of art with the laws currently in force in the European Union. “The acquisition, since the contested decision continues to produce its effects even today, is contrary to articles 1 and 17 of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen of 26 August 1789 – said Casanovas – to article 17 of the Declaration universal human rights of 10 December 1948 and Article 1 of the Additional Protocol to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms”. In the event of rejection of the request, the most likely scenario to date, Casanovas has already expressed its intention to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights.
