Vittorio Sgarbi, visiting the city of Reggio Calabria, proposed an idea: exchanging the Riace Bronzes for the Mona Lisa for a period of time
Vittorio Sgarbi proposed during a visit to the city of Reggio Calabria an exchange truly particular between Italy and France. According to the critic and art expert, our country could lend to France for four months the Riace Bronzes, in exchange the French cousins could give us Leonardo’s Mona Lisa for those months.
The exchange proposed by Sgarbi between the Riace Bronzes and the Mona Lisa
THE Riace’s bronzes they are two statues dating back to the 5th century BC discovered in 1972 in the waters off the coast of the town of Riace, in Calabria. These majestic bronze figures are approximately two meters tall and represent Greek warriors with singular accuracy not only in anatomical details but also in facial expressions. Considered among the most important masterpieces of classical art, according to some experts the Bronzes were most likely part of a larger sculptural group. The two bronze statues are now on display at the National Archaeological Museum of Reggio Calabria and always surprise all visitors with their grandeur and incredible level of conservation. And he also expressed himself precisely on the great value of the Riace Bronzes Vittorio Sgarbi.
After leaving the position of Undersecretary of Culture, Vittorio Sgarbi is now a candidate in the European elections and among the stages of his electoral campaign there was also Reggio Calabria. In the Calabrian city, Sgarbi visited the city center, various cultural places and then participated in a public meeting where he presented his program and his ideas. During the event, the art expert revived a project that he had already advanced some time ago. According to Sgarbi, to promote the city of Reggio Calabria, but more generally the entire region, events could be organised tour of the Riace Bronzes. The two bronze statues could be “loaned” for months to the largest and most important museums in the world such as the Louvre in Paris and the Metropolitan in New York.
This project would have a dual purpose: on the one hand to promote the Calabrian territory on the other encourage exchanges cultural. For the period of time in which the Bronzes would be exhibited abroad, the counterparty would undertake to lend works of equal value in turn. This is how Sgarbi proposed sending the Bronzes to the Louvre for four months and in turn the Louvre could lend the Mona Lisa in Reggio Calabria. It would be a temporary exchange that would allow the Bronzes to gain popularity and at the same time Reggio Calabria would also be publicized and better known.
Hypotheses about the future of the Mona Lisa
The Mona Lisa is one of the most famous paintings but also more enigmatic and studied in the world. There are many theories regarding this work. The famous portrait was brought to France in 1516 by Leonardo da Vinci himself who took it donated to King Francis I. From that moment on, the well-known painting has always remained on French territory.
There have been various claims of the painting over time. Among the latest ones, one caused a sensation mysterious association who, in the name of Leonardo’s heirs, had requested the French Council of State, considered the highest administrative tribunal in France, that the work be “removed” from the Museum’s inventory of the Louvre. The request in question was, however, later rejected.
However, a project shared by the French press dates back to the end of April which would involve move the Mona Lisa in an underground room of the museum. The idea would be part of a wider restoration program of the Louvre which would see the Mona Lisa placed in a special area of new construction. This new layout would make visits to the painting simpler and easier.
