Sale of Leonardo da Vinci sketch sparks legal battle in France

A small pen-and-ink drawing attributed to Leonardo da Vinci is at the centre of a court battle between the owner of the drawing and France's culture ministry. A Paris court will decide if the drawing of the martyrdom of Saint Sebastian may leave France for purchase by a foreign buyer.

The man himself, more or less. A self-portrait of Leonardo da Vinci. DR

In 2016, art expert Patrick de Bayser, concluded that the two-sided drawing -- the other side is inscribed with scientific studies of candle light -- was by Leonardo, an opinion supported by another specialist, Carmen Bambach of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

"The attribution of the St. Sebastian drawing to Leonardo is absolutely solid," she told The New York Times newspaper, noting that the sketch was complementary to other drawings of Saint Sebastian by the artist.

The work's estimated value rocketed, reaching between 8 and 12 million euros.

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That's when the French authorities stepped in, designating the drawing a "national treasure" and giving themselves 30 months to acquire it on behalf of the Louvre museum in Paris, home of the Mona Lisa.

An offer from the state duly followed -- 10 million euros -- but with a new valuation estimating the drawing at 15 million euros, the owner, a retired doctor in his 80s, refused.

When he applied for an export permit to be able to sell the drawing to a foreign buyer, the culture ministry refused, claiming that the drawing may in fact have been stolen.

On Wednesday, the retired doctor will ask a Paris court to order Culture Minister Roselyne Bachelot and a senior official in charge of art collections to allow the drawing to leave France.

Olivier Baratelli, the lawyer representing the owner, has described the government's handling of the case as "catastrophic".

"A culture ministry worthy of its name would have ensured the French state acquire such a drawing," he argued.