A Paris court on Friday confirmed the artist Maurizio Cattelani as the author of his works, and the request of another, Daniel Drouet, who made sculptures for him and considered himself the real author. The dispute concerns eight works by the 61-year-old Italian, who calls himself “concept artist”, including sculptures designed by Daniel Drouet. It is a symbolic work To him (2001), an installation in which the viewer advances to a boy on his back and knees before discovering that it is Adolf Hitler. 80-year-old Frenchman Daniel Drouet, known for his expertise in creating extremely realistic sculptures for the Musée Grévin in Paris, among others, wants to be recognized as the exclusive author of the eight works in question.
The court did not follow him. Complainant “does not claim the status of co-author of the joint work or composite work, but the sole author of the works in question“, he recalled. He chided him for initially not prosecuting the controversial Italian artist, but his representative, the Perotin Gallery, and an institution that organized the exhibition, the Monnaie de Paris. “Without personally calling out Maurizio Cattelani, the alleged author, (…) Daniel Drouet should be dismissed as inadmissible in all of his copyright infringement claims.“, the court observed.
The defense side considered that this verdict would set an example. ” For the first time, the magistrates anointed conceptual art with a principled decision Says Pierre-Olivier Sure, a lawyer at the Perotin Gallery. We won by two significant points. Recognizing the opposing side as inadmissible. And telling the judge what conceptual art is in law and what the qualifications are for their copyrights arising from it. ” “With immense satisfaction, I learned of this decision, which confirms the work of Maurizio Cattelan as a conceptual artist… I am happy that this decision puts an end to this controversy, which threatened a large part of contemporary artists. commented Emmanuel Perotin.
The plaintiff’s lawyer Jean-Baptiste Bourgeois contested this interpretation. “It is an absurd, incomprehensible and unjustified decision.he explains . There is no text at the bottom of the file. The only thing that remains is that the procedure is not valid because we did not assign the artist who claimed that the disputed works were all disclosed in his name only. This argument had already been raised and tried before the same court, but not before the same magistrates “.
Daniel Drouet, trained at Beaux-Arts and Prix de Rome, pioneered this procedure with Maurizio Cattelan from 1999-2006. long after the collaboration. He regrets having contributed to the works of this international star of contemporary art. was not recognized enough after that. The court ordered him to pay 10,000 euros to the Perrotin gallery and the same amount to the Monnaie de Paris.
Maurizio Cattelan, represented at the May 13 hearing, has never spoken about the case. Apart from the exhibition To him In 2013 in the area of the former Warsaw Ghetto, he is used to the explosions that have raised his profile in the market over the years. For another job related to the procedure.La Nona Ora(1999), Daniel Drouet sculpted Pope John Paul II. An Italian had knocked a stone over it, representing the sovereign pontiff killed by a meteor.
Source: Le Figaro
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