Italian protestors: Don’t loan Da Vinci Painting to Japan!
Certain groups in Italy are outraged over the proposed loan of Leonardo Da Vinci’s painting “Annunciation” to the Tokyo National Museum:
An Italian senator chained himself to a column near the gates of the Uffizi museum Monday to protest the loan of Leonardo da Vinci’s “Annunciation” for a show at Japan’s National Museum in Tokyo.
The “Annunciation” is one of Leonardo’s early works, painted between 1472-1475 when the master was in his early 20s. It depicts the archangel Gabriel revealing to the Virgin Mary that she is pregnant.
The 15th-century masterpiece will be shown in Tokyo from March 20 through June 17 as part of “Italian Spring,” a series of events promoting Italian culture and products.
In protesting the loan, Sen. Paolo Amato said it exposes a priceless masterpiece to unnecessary risk and belittles its significance by using it in a commercial event.
Inside the museum, the 6-1/2-foot-by-3-foot painting was being bundled in three protective crates filled with shock-absorbers and high-tech sensors to monitor humidity, temperatures and stress levels in preparation for departure Tuesday.
Central to their opposition seems to be the fact that the painting’s absense from the Uffizi gallery would deprive the site of its main tourist attraction, which is a pretty weak argument considering the fact that the painting will only be absent from the museum for a few months. Their position that the painting should not be used for a “commercial event” is similarly weak, since the painting will be displayed in the Tokyo Museum as a means of promoting Italy’s culture, and while there may be blatantly commercial parts of Primavera Italiana 2007, this art exihibition is not one of them. Its display in the National Museum will allow thousands of Japanese people to see a great work of Italian art, and it might even encourage more Japanese people to travel to Italy and admire the art there (while helping the tourism industry). I don’t see anything wrong with that.
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I have to disagree with your opinion that not wanting to lose the main attraction to their museum is weak. Tourism is an important sector of many countries economies both nation-wide and locally for individual towns and cities.
However, the commercial event excuse and exposing it to needless danger is indeed baseless, if the only valid argument they have is tourism that means they use it for commercialism themselves. And it seems the packaging is a few grades above your average Ebay cardboard-box and packing peanuts scenario.
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The city will only lose its main attraction for a few months, after which it will return, no doubt with greater name recognition in Japan. It might not be unreasonable to predict that a greater number of Japanese tourists would visit that city and its museum in the future. As you’ve pointed out, much of their own concerns are commercial, but I think such a loan might help their city in the long run when it comes to tourist money…
The majority of injuries to museum-owned works of art happen when they’re being transported. As part of this move the artwork will be in a special crate with humitidy and motion monitors, etc, but ALL OF THOSE will have to be turned off during the actual flight, leaving the work essentially sitting in cargo in a box just like your luggage.
It’s a wonderful thing to be able to look at a great work of art, but this is strictly a promotional, tourist-generating move on Italy’s part. It is too great a risk for something irreplaceable.
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It was already appened in the past Leonardo’s operas going out from Florence overseas.And everything was ok.
The senator of berlusconi’s party is silly and he is using political issue ’cause
hanger in relation of Leonardo opera, and whole Italy nation arise success it could be soon in back.
Berlusconi still should explain why 2 year ago didn’t met the emperor of japan, missing the visited booked, only 2 day notice before meeting.Japan court is still hanger about that, really faoult polite way.
No comment
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I didn’t know Leonardo had written an opera. What’s next – the Leonardo computer programming language? Seems to have done everything, this guy…. [On re-reading, I suspect "opera" means something different in Italian than it does in English - is this the case?]
I wouldn’t have thought The Annunciation was the main draw at the Uffizi. Wouldn’t something like the Birth of Venus be more famous? It’s certainly not one of Leo’s better paintings, and I suspect it’s famous for who painted it rather than how good it is.
I also don’t think Japanese tourists need any new reasons to visit Italy. They already do so in droves, and one painting more or less is not going to make any difference, not when the Uffizi has a ton more to show, and Florence itself is one of the prime destinations of tourists.
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“a series of events promoting Italian culture and products”
oh please, there is enough brands name product in every corner around the world. If you have the money to spend, then it is fine, you can enjoy it. But you can take it with you when you die. It’s absurd to do this just to promote “products” . but also culture too. Please keep, culture and product promotion separated . I really despise people that into brand name goods, you can’t eat it.
The art people should not push the art among museum visitors, if someone is interested in Da Vince, they will do some research and seek to view the real art themselves. They just takes out the inquisitive out of people. There is probably enough art in the museum to let people wonders about Europe and Americans. I swear Japan is being sucks into much western influences too much.
“I beg you peace.”
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Why are they getting worked up on something that really isn’t that crucial? It’s gonna be in Tokyo for a couple of months and after that returned to its place in Italy. I mean…really who cares??? Commerical event? what isnt a commercial event these days?
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“Why are they getting worked up on something that really isn’t that crucial?”
If it somehow gets damaged or even (god forbid) destroyed during the transportation you’ll see that it’s quite crucial.
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It wasn’t damaged:
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/westcoastlife/story.html?id=4373b981-1f2d-468d-acd0-f51317778a1e&k=4259