A chartered bus will give local residents an opportunity next
Sunday to see the only Leonardo da Vinci painting ever exhibited in
California.
A chartered bus will give local residents an opportunity next Sunday to see the only Leonardo da Vinci painting ever exhibited in California.
Sunday, May 18, will be the final day of the exhibit titled “Leonardo da Vinci and the Splendor of Poland” at the Legion of Honor Museum in San Francisco. Irene Agredano of Hollister has chartered the bus, which will leave from Sacred Heart Church at 9 a.m. Sunday and will return at 5 p.m. Seats are $16 per person.
“Lady With an Ermine” is the centerpiece of 77 paintings that are owned by private citizens or by museums in Poland. It normally hangs in Czartoryski Museum in Cracow, Poland, but is on loan for this exhibit. Other paintings in the exhibit were created by 15th and 16th-century European artists, and some were the work of 19th-century Polish painters.
The subject of da Vinci’s painting that was completed circa 1490 was Cecilia Gallarani, young mistress of the Duke of Milan. When the Duke was to be married, he gave her a dowry and a small castle. She eventually married and lived with her husband there.
The painting is oil on wood and is a precursor of the Mona Lisa, which was completed 500 years ago this month. Cecelia Gallarani is shown smiling with her face partially turned while an ermine nestles on her arm.
The painting was seized by the Nazi government during World War II but was recovered in Bavaria after the war. Thousands of other paintings and art treasures are believed to have been taken, but because the Nazis destroyed much of the documentation it is impossible to tell how many.
General admission to the museum is $12, with $10 for seniors, $9 for youths, and $4 for children from 5 to 11.
To reserve space on the bus, call Agredano at 637-2963. Reservations will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.
