The Council of State received a petition regarding the work of Leonardo da Vinci. Where it is displayed and what can happen with the restitution request
The french justice will examine on Thursday an unusual request from an association that demands the restitution of La Gioconda. It is the masterpiece of Italian artist Leonardo da Vinciexhibited in the Louvre museum in Paris.
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He Council of Statethe highest French administrative court, received a petition from International Restitutions, a mysterious association of which it is unknown where its headquarters are and who its directors are, so that “declare non-existent” the decision of King Francis I to “appropriate” La Giocondaalso known as Mona Lisa.
What association is asking for the restitution of La Gioconda?
The association, which claims to act “on behalf of the descendants of the painter’s heirs”, expects the Renaissance masterpiece, which has been the cause of friction between France and Italy in the past, to be “removed” from the Louvre museum’s inventory. But it is Council of State unlikely to rule in favor of International Restitutions. Similar requests from the association, for works less emblematic than La Gioconda, have never been successful.
In a 2022 decision, The court ruled that the association did not have “legitimacy to file a lawsuit” and that “only persons who consider themselves legitimate owners and who have an interest, if applicable, in the restitution of these assets” could file a lawsuit.
The works owned by the Medici, the Renaissance family in Florence
After falling into disgrace with the Medici, a powerful and influential family of the Renaissance in Florence, Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) was placed in 1516 under the protection of Francis I (king of France from 1515 to 1547). Upon leaving Italy, she took with her several of his works, including the portrait of the wife of the Florentine cloth merchant Francesco del Giocondo, made between 1503 and 1506.
He offered his works to the French sovereign, who paid him a generous pension in return. These works entered the royal collections and never left France again.
The Mona Lisa has been on display at the Louvre since 1797. and it is likely to be there for a long time to come.
