- DETAILS -
Maître Charlotte BEAUVISAGE, Attorney at Law - Specialist in Copyright and Intellectual Property
CABINET LARDIN-BEAUVISAGE - CABELI - PRADIÉ
45, Avenue Montaigne, 75008 PARIS - 01.56.89.85.85
The famous Italian-Argentinian sculptor Francesco Marino Di Teana, now deceased, author of the largest monumental steel sculpture in Europe (21 meters high), among about fifty other monumental sculptures, created and produced in 1967 -1972 the sculpture entitled "Hommage à Laurent le Magnifique", an architectural structure 17 meters high, reproduced below.
Erected as part of the obligation to decorate public buildings, more commonly known as the "1% artistic", the work commissioned by the public community belongs to the Languedoc Roussillon Region which left it abandoned after the 'have installed in the courtyard of the Jean-Mermoz high school in the city of Montpellier.
However, unlike most goods whose transfer of ownership is governed by the provisions of the General Code of Property of Public Persons or those of the Civil Code, the acquisition of works of art by a public body is governed by the derogatory provisions of the Code of Intellectual Property (CPI).
The work of art is the subject of enhanced protection, something that the Languedoc Roussillon region seems to ignore. The ICC protects in particular the moral rights of the author, which is personal, perpetual, inalienable and imprescriptible.
The order contract within the framework of the 1% cannot derogate from this right. On the contrary.
Consequently, any public authority which acquires a work of art owes more than anyone else to respect the moral rights of its author and in particular his right to respect for the work.
It follows that the owner of a work of art is bound by an obligation to keep this work "as is", this obligation being reinforced in the case of a work exhibited to the public.
However, Mr. Nicolas Marino Di Teana was able to observe with regret that the Languedoc Roussillon region did not maintain his father's work, leaving it to rust to the point of weakening its structure. But again, the room which was majestic was not highlighted, it was surrounded by fences, and today serves as a support for engraving graffiti.
Worse still, the sculpture was severely damaged and mutilated, since it was largely amputated with a blowtorch, without neither Francesco Marino Di Teana nor his son being informed or consulted in order to proceed with its restoration.
However, no technical impossibility prevented the maintenance of the work which can still be restored according to the plans saved by the only son of the artist, the Languedoc Roussillon region not being able to justify the mutilations thus carried out in the name of an alleged principle. of "security", its faulty abstention from maintaining the work for many years making it totally responsible for this state of affairs.
Mr. Nicolas Marino Di Teana then initially, on the advice of the General Conservator of Heritage, sent a letter to the City of Montpellier in which he informed him of having discovered that the sculpture had been cut with a torch without his 'was warned of this and that it was now "a scandalously mutilated, unbalanced sculpture, which gives a totally negative perception of the work of Francesco Marino di Teana and the maintenance of a work of art".
Without a response from the City of Montpellier, Mr. Nicolas Marino Di Teana then gave notice to the Languedoc Roussillon Region to have to restore the work without delay after having contacted him so that he could supervise the restoration operations and to have to maintain the work for the future.
No response was given to these requests by the Languedoc Roussillon region.
In these conditions, faced with the guilty silence and passivity of the Languedoc Roussillon Region and in order to "save" this exceptional monumental sculpture, Mr. Nicolas Marino Di Teana will have no other choice than to assign the Languedoc Region. Roussillon before the courts in order to see it condemned to the restoration of the work Hommage à Laurent le Magnifique in its initial state.