It is arguable that most art is, on some level or another, homage or parody. If we take the late paintings of Picasso, many involved reworkings of the tropes of European art, including 58 paintings alone based on Diego Velázquez’s Las Meninas. ‘I borrow from the best’ is the rule of great art.
In terms of artists of the classical heritage, the most parodied artist is arguably Leonardo da Vinci—from Marcel Duchamp’s famous parody of The Mona Lisa, to a 2005 Last Supper-style advertisement which caused considerable controversy for the French fashion house responsible, and was banned in Italy and France. Parody is close to the edge.
Though da Vinci is outside of copyright protection on account of the ‘life plus 70 years’ rule, art galleries continue to litigate extensively—with mixed results—for their copyright in reproductive images, and argue that parody does reputational harm and damages commercial interests.
Parody protection: the US approach
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