Poland buys Leonardo da Vinci"s "Lady with an Ermine"

Culture&Arts Adina Camarasu
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‘Lady with an Ermine’ by Leonardo da Vinci, one of the four women’s portraits painted by the artist and also his most famous masterpiece, will be exhibited in Poland, following a spectacular, secret transaction closed by the Polish government, according to AFP.

At the end of the confidential negotiations between the Ministry of Culture and the foundation Czartoryski, that manages a rich collection from the XVth century, the ‘Lady’ will change its owner in a formal ceremony at the Royal Palace in Warsaw, on Thursday at 13:00 GMT.

The ministry made the announcement in cautious terms, talking about ‘the final settlement of Czartoryski’s collection status’, but the Minister, Piotr Glinski, used the term ‘purchase’.

‘The sum for which the Polish state will buy this collection is not related to the market price but is a few times lower’, declared the Minister for a Polish public radio station.

The sum is not known, but Polish media is talking about € 230 million.

The real value of the collection, which includes tens of thousands of items, such as ‘The Good Samaritan’ by Rembrandt, is difficult to estimate and may exceed two billion. According to press reports, only the ‘Lady with an Ermine’ is insured for € 350 million.

One of the oldest and richest in Europe, this collection was founded in 1801 by Princess Izabela Czartoryski, to gather and preserve the works of Polish and European art at a time when the country was dismembered and occupied by three neighboring powers.

After the communism fell, the collection was owned by the Czartoryski Foundation, chaired by its founder, Prince Adam Karol Czartoryski. The treasures belonging to the collection are preserved at the National Museum in Krakow.

‘The intention of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage is to preserve it for the future generations in Poland’, said the ministry in an email to AFP.

Considered by critics ‘the first modern portrait’, as it pictures a face so naturally displayed, ‘Lady with an Ermine’ represents, in all probabilities, Cecilia Gallerani’s face. The poetess was a young woman who supposedly had a sentimental relationship with Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan, who would have ordered her portrait to Leonardo da Vinci.