Sky Arte Documentary Explores Four Women and Leonardo's Lady with an Ermine

A documentary titled 'Le Dame con l'ermellino' airing on Sky Arte on Sunday, December 26, traces the history of Leonardo da Vinci's painting 'Lady with an Ermine' through the lives of four women: Cecilia Gallerani, the subject; Isabella d'Este, who sought a portrait by Leonardo; Izabela Czartoryska, who acquired and saved the painting; and Melitta Sallai, who witnessed its theft by Nazis. The work is now at the Museo Principi Czartoryski, part of the National Museum in Krakow. Art historians Vittorio Sgarbi and Pietro Marani, and photographer Steve McCurry, describe the painting as the first photographic portrait for its realism. The documentary uses archival footage and immersive scenes set in Renaissance Milan, Mantua, and 19th-century Puławy, Poland. It also features Niklas Frank, son of Nazi official Hans Frank, who kept the painting during the occupation. The documentary recounts the painting's journey from Hitler and Goering's desire to its rescue by Melitta Sallai in January 1945.