 See
the big picture
(67k)
Other
Krakow Curios:
World's
greatest medieval sculpture
Window
of awe
Subterranean
wonder world
Renaissance
pearl
Giant
bell
Miraculous
images
8-foot
golden crown
Signal
trump
Nativity
beauties
Krakow
mummies
Ice-age
rhino
Slavic
idol
'Kmita's
Chasuble'
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Leonardo da Vinci's
Masterpiece
Krakow is
one of just six places in the world that can boast a painting
by Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), the old masters’ old
master. And there are known only three his female portraits of
which Krakow’s Lady with an Ermine is arguably the
most beautiful. It’s also in the best shape after the
500-plus years that elapsed. Leonardo’s masterpiece in The
Czartoryskich Museum at 19 Sw. Jana street depicts a
delightful teenage beauty, most probably Cecilia Gallerani who
was the mistress of Milan’s ruler Lodovico Sforza il Moro,
the artist’s patron. Most likely Leonardo da Vinci painted
her in his early thirties, between 1482 and 1485–i.e. some
20 years before the Paris' Louvre’s famed Mona Lisa–and
for the first time he showed the sitter in the way that would
soon become the standard. Art historians maintain it’s the
world’s first modern-age portrait ever painted.
That
stunning picture is 40.3 cm wide and 54.8 cm high, oil on
walnut board. Unfortunately, the original background has been
overlaid probably in the 17th c.
The portrait of the Lady
with an Ermine was bought by Prince Adam Jerzy Czartoryski
in Italy and incorporated into The Czartoryskis’ family
collections in 1800.
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Krakow
Poland's prime tourist attraction and a
must in Central Europe boasts numerous
world-class monuments, charming vistas,
delightful atmosphere, and the best restaurants.
Krakow
Museums
Fine
Arts in Krakow
Krakow
Galleries
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