Venice Biennale Showcases Art Disputes from Prince to Veronese

At the 2026 Venice Biennale, visitors encounter a poster of Richard Prince's 'Graduation' (2008), a work central to a landmark copyright lawsuit. The poster promotes 'Helter Skelter: Arthur Jafa and Richard Prince' at the Prada Foundation's Ca' Corner della Regina, running until 23 November. Prince's 'Graduation' reproduces a photograph by Patrick Cariou, part of Prince's Canal Zone series. Cariou sued Prince in New York; the Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 25 of 30 works as fair use, but 'Graduation' and four others were remanded. The parties settled confidentially before trial, and the prominent display in Venice suggests Cariou granted a license. The article also notes the EU's new 'pastiche' defense, though risky for such a publicized case. Elsewhere in Venice, the Accademia houses Veronese's 'The Feast in the House of Levi', originally a Last Supper renamed after the Inquisition in 1573. His 'The Wedding Feast at Cana' was seized by Napoleon in the 1790s and now hangs in the Louvre's Salle des États, facing the Mona Lisa. After Napoleon's defeat, it was not returned because the Austrians, then governing Venice, traded it for a work by Charles Le Brun—a deal the author calls 'the worst deal in the history of art.' The Biennale runs until 22 November.