The portrait in question is "Portrait of a Lady with Ermine" by Leonardo da Vinci. One story takes place in Milan in 1492 when the Duke of Milan commissions a portrait of his 16 year old mistress. Think court intrigue, artistic drama and one feisty young woman. The other story begins in Munich in 1939. Edith is a talented but shy art conservator at the Alte Pinakothek Museum. She is honored to be ask to make a presentation about the art collection owned by single family. Her audience turns out to be a group of important men in Hitler's inner circle but when the unthinkable becomes the reality of Hitler's Germany, she feels responsible for what she fears is a great mistake. At great risk she makes a connection with an American soldier who is one of the Monuments Men and so begins a new chapter in the story of this very famous painting. Wonderfully imagined historical fiction.
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