In the context of a dispute over the reproduction of the image of the Renaissance sculpture of Michelangelo's "David", Italy recognized for the first time in its history the existence of the "right to the image of cultural heritage as an expression of the right to the collective identity of citizens" and, from now on, illicit use for commercial purposes will be prohibited. of this iconic work, reported the Accademia Gallery of Florence, one of the most visited museums in the world.
With this historic ruling, the Italian Justice closed the case against a publisher that, avoiding the payment of any royalty, distorted the image of "David" to include it on the cover of a magazine. It is a judicial decision that "guarded" the piece "as if it were a person, so that the values it represents are not altered," Cecilie Holberg, director of the Accademia Gallery in Florence, which exhibits and protects this masterpiece, explained to Telam.
Although since 2017 there was a precautionary measure of the Court of Florence that the image of the emblematic sculpture of the Renaissance genius Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564) could not be reproduced without authorization, especially in the case of advertising or commercial destination, this judgment postulates for the first time, as a substantive fact, the existence of the "right to the image of cultural heritage", said the director of the famous space.
According to the Court of Florence, which accepted the thesis of the State Prosecutor, "the image of cultural heritage is an expression of the cultural identity of the nation and its historical memory that must be protected in accordance with art. 9 of the Constitution, foundational value of our legal system".
The David is a white marble sculpture 5.17 meters high and 5572 kilograms in mass. AP Photo
"Malicious"
"The publisher, insidiously and maliciously, approximated the image of 'David' to that of a model, degrading, eclipsing, mortifying and humiliating the high symbolic and identity value of the artwork, subjecting it to advertising purposes," the court said.
The ruling establishes that the unauthorized reproduction of the image of David produced "a material damage linked to the non-payment of the fee for the use of the property" calculated at 20,000 euros, according to the museum's rates.
The cover of the magazine with the "retouched" David.
"It is a step forward that allows us to apply this principle that is no longer specific to become something permanent that will allow us to better defend the heritage that 'David' represents," Holberg said.
Other cases
Last August, the also Florentine Uffizi Gallery, the main Italian art gallery, took legal action against the French fashion house Jean Paul Gaultier for the use in its designs of the image of one of its most important paintings, "The Birth of Venus" (1485), by Sandro Botticelli (1445-1510), without permits or payments of the corresponding royalties "as required by law".
The work was made by Michelangelo between 1501 and 1504.
In 2021, in the midst of the pandemic, the Uffizi and other spaces of art and culture in Italy, sued Pornhub, one of the largest pornography web services in the world that had launched the "Classic nudes" campaign, an "interactive guide" on classic works of nudes made by masters of universal art, reproduced without any authorization.
The David is a white marble sculpture of 5.17 meters high and 5572 kilograms of mass, made by Michelangelo Buonarroti between 1501 and 1504, which represents the biblical king David before facing Goliath.
The work was welcomed as a symbol of the Republic of Florence against the hegemony of its overthrown leaders, the Medici, and the threat of adjacent states, especially the Papal States.
Source: Télam and ANSA
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