Italian Supreme Court rules on attribution dispute over works ascribed to Piero Manzoni

The Italian Supreme Court (Corte di Cassazione) has issued a ruling in a dispute concerning the attribution of several artworks to Piero Manzoni, a leading figure of the Milanese and international avant-garde of the twentieth century. The case was brought by the artist's family against the heirs of a well-known Milanese art dealer, who had claimed ownership of the works.

Following lower court decisions that had found the works to be non-authentic, the Supreme Court established that an action to deny the authorship of artworks does not fall within the scope of moral rights under copyright law, but may be grounded exclusively in the protection of personality rights — in particular the artist's identity and reputation.

The Court therefore quashed the appealed judgment and referred the case back to the Corte d'Appello di Milano for a fresh assessment in light of the principles set out in the ruling.

The heirs of the art dealer were assisted by BonelliErede, with a team led by partner Angelo Bonetta, member of the Art and Cultural Heritage Focus Team, and comprising senior associate Luca Monosi and Andrea Lucarelli.

Image: © Gagosian