“La Bella Principessa” (“The Beautiful Princess): A Leonardo Controversy Solved

Leonardo da Vinci - La Bella Principessa” - (1480 - 1490) - 3 mines technique on vellum, Black Chalk, Red Chalk,Chalk white. Dim: 23,87 X 33,27 cm - 9,39 x 13,09 inches. Strengthened with oak panel backing. (click photo for larger image)In 2009, a lawsuit against Christie’s in New York was filed, by one Jeanne Marchig, when a drawing that the auction house sold for her (in 1998) turned out to be a work by Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519). Marchig (who runs a U.K. animal welfare foundation) was "devastated" when she learned that the drawing, which sold as a nineteenth century German work, turned out to be a depiction of Bianca Sforza, daughter of the Duke of Milan, created by the great master himself. The origin of the “La Bella Principessa” has been formally identified in its provenance, thus confirming its authenticity.

The attribution to Leonardo  da Vinci is based on  the multispectral scanning of the Research Laboratory Lumiere-Technology. It was confirmed in 2009 by six art historians, Nicholas Turner, Carlo Pedretti, Alessandro Vezzosi, Mina Gregori, Cristina Geddo and Martin Kemp (who has written a book on this whole matter). Christie’s sold the work for £11,400 (a little over $19,500 today). Its value exceeds £100m ($150 million).

Marchig sued Christie's for breach of fiduciary duty, breach of warranty, negligence and negligent misrepresentation. But the lawsuit was dismissed because the statute of limitations requires that no more than three years lapse from the time the alleged infraction occurs. Marchig's attorney's argued that the statute of limitations should apply to the date when they learned the true authorship and value of the work. But the judge disagreed and ruled in Christie's favor. Ouch!

There is still much debate today over whether or not the attribution to Leonardo is correct—but as of now it definitely stands. There are some claims that the forensics even revealed Leonardo’s fingerprint on the drawing! But other art historians still argue that this could be a copy of a Leonardo work. One thing, however, is clear. The drawing definitely is of Leonardo’s era—and not from the nineteenth century. Christie’s should have know that. The problem is that thousands and thousands of paintings go through auction houses every year—and they simply don’t have the time or resources to perform “due diligence.” But…in this case…Christie’s was not held accountable for its failure to do so.