POLAND ~ Lady with an Ermine - Lenonardo da Vinci - Krakow ~

And finally my last great postcard coming from Krakow💙... few people know that in this city is a well known Leonardo da Vinci painting... a beautiful and important painting because it is one of the only four women’s portraits painted by him.... the first renaissance painting of a woman that shows her personality and mind, not only her beauty... in excellent condition despite the passage of over 500 years... according to some art historians, it is the first portrait of modern-ages in the world... from 2017 this magnificent painting is housed in the Main Building of the National Museum... Thanks so much dear Dustin for taking me with you on your trip in Krakow through wonderful postcards! (✿ ♥‿♥)

Lady with an Ermine (Portrait of Cecilia Gallerani) was painted between 1489 and 1490. The subject of the portrait is Cecilia Gallerani, the mistress of Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan. Leonardo was in the service of the Duke at the time the portrait was painted.

The finished oil-on-wood painting, which is owned by the Czartoryski Foundation in Poland, shows the woman holding a light-colored ermine in her arms.The ermine was a symbol of purity for Leonardo

The Lady With An Ermine' came into Polish hands in 1800, after it was bought by the young Prince Adam Czartoryski (later a hero in the fight for Polish independence) during his tour of Italy. The painting was for his mother, a keen collector and the foundress of the Czartoryski Museum.

Stamps:

Never Again
(Issued 27-01-2018)

Defence War 1939
(Issued 27-08-2009)

The 15th Anniversary of Poland's Accession to the European Union
(Issued 01-05-2019)