Italy threatens to withhold Leonardo works from Louvre

Italy has threatened not to lend the Louvre Museum several works by Leonardo da Vinci, according to a report by the art news site Alejandra de Argos. The threat centres on a 2017 agreement under which Italy committed to loan the French museum a selection of the Renaissance master's work, including the unfinished Saint Jerome in the Wilderness, currently held in the Vatican Museums. The Italian culture ministry has signalled it may now refuse to honour the arrangement, citing concerns over the preservation and national significance of the pieces.

The dispute reopens a delicate chapter in Italy-France cultural relations. The 2017 accord, signed by then-culture minister Dario Franceschini, was celebrated as a gesture of goodwill between two nations that share a contested claim to Leonardo's legacy. Leonardo spent his final years in France, at the invitation of King Francis I, and the Louvre holds his most famous work, the Mona Lisa. The Italian government has since argued that the loan arrangement undervalues the works remaining in Italy and risks their condition.