Courtesy of Jean-Paul Gaultier
ROME—French fashion’s bad boy Jean-Paul Gaultier is being sued by Italy’s prestigious Ufizzi Gallery after unleashing a collection of what some consider distasteful men’s and women’s clothing depicting the copyrighted masterpieces of Italian painter Sandro Botticelli.
The line, which includes Botticelli’s Birth of Venus stamped on bandeau scarves, t-shirts and palazzo pants, was released in April, after which the Uffizi sent a cease and desist letter—which they say was ignored.
Now the Uffizi confirms to The Daily Beast that they have begun legal proceedings to sue the French designer for using the images without consent or payment. “According to the Cultural Heritage Code, in fact, the use of images of Italian public property is compulsorily subject to a specific authorization and to the payment of a fee,” the Uffizi said in a statement. “Faced with this illegal behavior, the legal department of the Galleries immediately activated.”