Laura Morelli weaves together the story surrounding the fifteenth century creation of Leonardo da Vinci painting, The Lady and the Ermine, and the painting’s twentieth century imperiled journeys back and forth from Poland to Germany in the hands of the Nazis during World War II.

In this well-researched historical fiction, the subject of the painting commissioned by Ludovico in Moro, Cecilia Gallerani, comes to life as the regent of Milan’s mistress, mother of his illegitimate child, and later, Countess, married to Count Ludovico Carminati de Brambilla. But so do the 20th century heroes who risk their lives to keep her image safe: more specifically, a German art conservator, Edith Becker, who is essentially imprisoned by Hans Frank, the Butcher of Poland; and a young Italian-American soldier — a husband, father of two daughters, Pennsylvania coal miner by trade, artist by hobby—who is assigned at times to work with the Monuments Men, who were attempting to save and recover all the works of art the Nazis stole throughout Europe. ( )

Cecilia - young, pretty, smart and musically gifted, she has captured the heart of the lord of Milan, Ludovico. A powerful man, though not strong enough to walk away from a very beneficial marriage contract. So Cecilia stays in a wing of the castle, visited in secret and occasionally brought out to sing for guests - that is, until her beautiful gowns can no longer hide her delicate condition.

Leonardo - he dreams of how to please his patron. Strengthen the castle, build a better bridge, make a man fly? He could work on all of that if he just had the time! And now the patron wants a portrait of some girl? Well, he's going to make this portrait different than expected.

Edith - she followed her father into art conservation but all the Nazis want day after day is her ranking on the art they bring her. Truckload after truckload of stolen art. Unfortunately her boss has taken a shine to both Edith and the da Vinci and he's hell bent on keeping them both for himself.

Dominic - he used to spend his downtime making charcoal drawings of his wife, trying to remember her features. Imagining what their newest child looks like. He used to love art, but the brutal death of his fellow soldiers has beaten all the passion out of him. Until one day his commander introduces him to a detail called the Monuments Men - can he find any purpose again?

I enjoyed this book so much! It took me forever to read it. It was engaging and enjoyable, I just couldn’t seem to make good ground while reading it… and then it was over. I loved the imagined life of this real painting and I enjoyed the trials that Edith and Dominic endured and overcame.

to learn more and to see a photo of the Monuments Men with the painting visit:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_with_an_Ermine ( )

When evil leaders become powerful, as we've seen through history, it can lead to danger that is extremely destructive not only with human lives but also its surroundings with beauty and art. This story follows the portrait of "Lady with an Ermine" created by Leonardo da Vinci in the 1490s in Italy. This is a painting of Cecilia Gallerani, the beautiful mistress of the Duke of Milan when she was 16 years old.

In the late 1930s, the painting was part of a private collection in Poland. Art conservationist Edith Becker, an expert with Italian Renaissance paintings, was reassigned from her museum job to assist Hilter's movement by compiling a dossier of old masters in Polish collections. Her list and assistance helped the Nazis take priceless pieces of art and objects. In the 1940s, Dominic Bonelli, an American soldier was told he had a new job to work with the Monuments Men to get art works back from the Nazis and return it to their owners.

This WWII story is different from others as it's about the valuable pieces of stolen art and objects. The author did an incredible amount of research to create this emotional story told by four narrators which flows seamlessly. It's not necessarily one to read quickly as there is a lot to digest. In the book, Leonardo da Vinci says: "Man will always make war. But it is art and beauty, I think, that will give us something to live for." Once again, the author begs us to question: when will we learn?

My thanks to Laura Morelli, HarperCollins Publishers and NetGalley for allowing me to rad this copy. ( )

A pretty good book. Liked the stuff about Leonardo De Vince but the stuff about WWII was not accurate. Funny almost 80 years after the war art work etc is still not in the hands of the original owners. So much whitewashing of Nazism and the German people ( )

The author is the American art historian Laura Morelli, a Harvard graduate who also taught there ten years. This is an historical novel telling the story behind the painting Lady With An Ermine. The subject is thought to be Ceccilia Gallerani, about 16, and mistress to the Duke of Milan. DaVinci served as painter to the Duke's court during the 1490s and it is accepted that he did the painting during that time.

The plot covers DaVinci's decision to leave Florence and journey to Milan, the painting of the portrait, Gallerani's life once she left the court, and what happened to the painting during WWII. The WWII period included following a German conservator (a woman character, not an actual person), and a young American soldier (not an actual person) who was assigned to the Mouments Men.

The book has several time lines which I normally complain about, but this is a good example of how those can be handled. When a new chapter begins there is a banner with the chapter number, name of the character we will be following, the location, and the date. No where am I now needed!

The painting was returned to the Czartoryski family in Poland and it can be seen at the Czartoryski Museum in Krakow. Morelli includes some of her resources in the book, but because there are many so a complete list is available on her website. This is the first book I've read by her but I have more on my TBR and look forward to them. ( )