{"product_id":"what-the-ermine-saw-the-extraordinary-journey-of-leonardo-da-vincis-most-mysterious-portrait-9780385546119","title":"What the Ermine Saw: The Extraordinary Journey of Leonardo Da Vinci's Most Mysterious Portrait","description":"\u003cb\u003eThe remarkable true story behind one of history's most enigmatic portraits--\"a glorious picaresque of unbridled passions and unmitigated scoundrels, a glorious romp through the great palaces and palazzos of Europe\" (Amanda Foreman, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e best-selling author of \u003ci\u003eGeorgiana, Duchess of Devonshire\u003c\/i\u003e)\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFive hundred and thirty years ago, a young woman sat before a Grecian-nosed artist known as Leonardo da Vinci. Her name was Cecilia Gallerani, and she was the young mistress of Ludovico Sforza, duke of Milan. Sforza was a brutal and clever man who was mindful that Leonardo's genius would not only capture Cecilia's beguiling beauty but also reflect the grandeur of his title. But when the portrait was finished, Leonardo's brush strokes had conveyed something deeper by revealing the essence of Cecilia's soul. Even today, \u003ci\u003eThe Woman with an Ermine\u003c\/i\u003e manages to astonish. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eDespite the work's importance in its own time, no records of it have been found for the two hundred and fifty years that followed Gallerani's death. Readers of \u003ci\u003eThe Hare with the Amber Eyes\u003c\/i\u003e will marvel at Eden Collinsworth's dexterous story of illuminates the eventual history of this unique masterpiece, as it journeyed from one owner to the next-from the portrait's next recorded owner, a Polish noblewoman, who counted Benjamin Franklin as an admirer, to its exile in Paris during the Polish Soviet War, to its return to WWII-era Poland where--in advance of Germany's invasion--it remained hidden behind a bricked-up wall by a housekeeper who defied Hitler's edict that it be confiscated as one of the Reich's treasures. Fans of Anne-Marie O'Connor's \u003ci\u003eThe Lady in Gold\u003c\/i\u003e will treasure the story of this criss-crossing journey and the enigmatic woman at its heart. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eWhat the Ermine Saw\u003c\/i\u003e is a fact-based story that cheats fiction and a reminder that genius, power, and beauty always have a price.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEDEN COLLINSWORTH is a former media executive and business consultant. The author of three previous books, her most recent, \u003ci\u003eBehaving Badly: The New Morality in Politics, Sex, and Business\u003c\/i\u003e, was published in 2017. She lives in London. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Doubleday Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50670406631698,"sku":"9780385546119","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_6453dc7c-1926-4981-aac6-e7243343eaf1.jpg?v=1733778075","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/what-the-ermine-saw-the-extraordinary-journey-of-leonardo-da-vincis-most-mysterious-portrait-9780385546119","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}