The Lost Leonardo - Leonardo da Vinci and the Portrait of Isabella d'Este

Leonardo da Vinci und das Gemälde der Isabella d'Este

In 2013 an oil painting attributed to Leonardo da Vinci appears in Lugano: the portrait of Isabella d'Este, Marchioness of Mantua. The owner of the painting, Emidia Cecchini, is about to sell it for 140 million euros when Italy accuses her of illegal export. The painting is confiscated, but Switzerland does not release it. For 500 years it was not known whether Leonardo completed the portrait of Isabella d'Este, whose sketch is hanging in the Louvre. Experts’ examinations of the painting show similarities with Leonardo da Vinci's way of working and estimate it was created during the Renaissance. For the first time, the photographs of these examinations are published in this film. The Italian Emidia Cecchini, who inherited the painting from her father, is sentenced to 14 months imprisonment by an Italian court for illegally exporting a cultural asset. Italy does not believe her that the painting has always belonged to her family and has been in Switzerland for many years and asks Switzerland for legal assistance and restitution of the painting. Will Switzerland follow Italy’s request or protect the owner's property? The film tells the story of the painting and accompanies Emidia Cecchini in the struggle for her painting.
Screening Schedule

No physical screenings scheduled.
Direction: Annette Frei Berthoud
Production Country: Switzerland
Production Year: 2019
Duration: 52'
Contact: NEW DOCS, Luisa Schwamborn, luisa.schwamborn@newdocs.de