Art historian Renato Barilli questions Leonardo da Vinci attributions amid exhibition frenzy

Renato Barilli, professor emeritus at the University of Bologna, criticizes the Italian tendency to repeatedly mount exhibitions on well-known artists without new scholarly contributions, specifically targeting the proliferation of Leonardo da Vinci shows. He notes that Leonardo exhibitions have been held at the Venaria Reale in 2011 (for Italy's 150th anniversary), at the National Gallery in London simultaneously, and in Milan in 2015 for Expo. Now, with the 500th anniversary of Leonardo's death in 1519 approaching, the Louvre is preparing a major show, while Italy is accused of being late. Barilli raises a crucial doubt: two famous portraits attributed to Leonardo—the Lady with an Ermine and La Belle Ferronnière—may not be by his hand. He published this thesis in Ricerche di storia dell'arte (no. 120, 2016), edited by Antonio Pinelli, arguing that until the early 20th century, experts attributed the first to Boltraffio, and the second has no biographical reference linking it to Leonardo. Barilli expected controversy but received silence, which he interprets as neglect of scholarly depth in favor of exhibition spectacle.