Jean Paul Gaultier is facing legal action after it printed Botticelli’s Birth of Venus on several clothing items allegedly “without permission” from the Uffizi Gallery in Florence.
The museum is suing the French fashion label for the use of Venus’ image on its latest “Le Musée” capsule collection without asking or paying for usage.
Other famous paintings also feature in the collection, such as The Three Graces by Peter Paul Rubens, held by the Prado Museum, and Michelangelo’s The Creation of Adam in the Sistine Chapel.
The Uffizi Gallery said on Monday (10 October) that Jean Paul Gaultier used the print “without requesting permission, without agreeing the way she would be used and without paying the fee that is specifically required by law”.
It is demanding that the label remove the items from sale or come to a financial agreement to continue using the painting.
A cropped image of the nude deity appears on a scarf, a dress, a top, and a pair of trousers released by Jean Paul Gaultier in April.
On the trousers, the Venus painting is printed on the front and part of the rear. The god Zephyr, who is blowing wind in the same scene, is printed on the other side of the rear.
According to Artnet, the Uffizi claimed that it sent the label a formal notice in April asking it to remove the clothing items from the market or make a financial accord that would “remedy the abuse committed”.
However, it claims that the letter was ignored and it is now being forced to take legal action.
Botticelli’s masterpiece shows the goddess Venus standing nude on a giant scallop shell, with her hands and long hair posed so they cover one of her breasts and her groin.
In a description of the painting on its website, the Uffizi says it portrays Venus as having arrived on the island of Cyprus after she was “born of the sea spray and blown there by the winds, Zephyr, and perhaps, Aura”.
The Independent has contacted Jean Paul Gaultier, the Prado Museum, and the Sistine Chapel for comment.
