Abstract

The article aims to investigate the increasing importance of private law in art law. It recalls the so-called "Pieraccini Law" that introduced in 1971 the authenticity right and a famous case law decided in 1982 by the Italian Supreme Court on civil liability of a famous painter (Giorgio de Chirico). Afterwards, the article analyzes two present-day questions on art law that have been decided by Italian courts: the first one on the blurring boundaries between appropriation art and artistic plagiarism, the second one on the reproduction rights of artworks (particularly about the David of Michelangelo in Florence and of the Massimo Theatre in Palermo). In the conclusions, the article stresses the need of more systematic studies of private art law.