1. Krakow: The Lady with an Ermine at the Czartoryski Museum
The "Lady with an Ermine" portrait embodies the Renaissance idea of an image as an illusion of natural vitality. Da Vinci managed to achieve this thanks to his detailed knowledge of anatomy, and his skill with light features. Combining these he was able to create a three-dimensional figure on the image plane. The original background, which was painted over in black in the 19th century, was also modelled with light just like the figure, which must have added to the impression of the model emerging from the shadows. The painting was purchased in Italy in around 1800 by Adam Jerzy, the son of Princess Izabela Czartoryska, and later donated to the Museum in Puławy. The portrait became the property of the Republic of Poland in 2016.