2024-05-10
A landmark transaction took place yesterday, thanks to which the State Treasury has been enriched by the famous collection of the Czartoryski Princes, with Leonardo da Vinci's "Lady with an Ermine" and Rembrandt's "The Charitable Samaritan" at the forefront. The agreement was signed at the Royal Castle in Warsaw, with the participation of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Culture Piotr Glinski and the President of the Princes Czartoryski Foundation, Adam Karol Czartoryski.
No one imagined that the general refurbishment of the museum building housing the famous art collection would spark a conflict between the Ministry of Culture, the National Museum in Kraków and the Prince's Czartoryski Foundation. The reconstruction of the building continues to this day, and its opening has not been announced until the end of 2018. Confused tourists wishing to see the famous work of the Renaissance master still find themselves at the door of the closed museum, unaware that the "Lady" has been exiled to Wawel Castle for the duration of the renovation, and that the remaining collection has been divided and transferred to various museum facilities across the country.
Talks regarding the repurchase of the valuable collection were sparked by a speech by Minister Gliński, who expressed his concerns about the future of the famous painting in May this year. As experts are convinced, they were unfounded - works of this stature cannot be taken out of the country without the permission of the Ministry of Culture. The value of Cecilia Gallerani's portrait is extremely difficult to value, making the painting virtually unattainable for private collectors, regardless of their wallet. The minister's reservations were also raised by the foundation's aspirations to create an independent cultural institution and the painting's too frequent trips to international temporary exhibitions.
In mid-December, huge emotions were aroused by the decision of the parliamentary finance committee to create a reserve for the purchase of works of art for the State, which sealed the decision to buy the collection. However, in order to finalize the transaction, it was necessary to amend the statutes of the foundation, which had been operating since 1991, the basic provision of which prohibited the sale of valuable collections. The idea of the Minister of Culture was not agreed with by the members of the Czartoryski Foundation, who resigned on 23 December. The agreement was already signed with the participation of the new board. Under the terms of the agreement, for the equivalent of 100 million euros, the collection, comprising some 86,000 museum artefacts and nearly 250,000 library items, together with its real estate, was transferred to the care of the National Museum in Kraków. According to experts, the actual value of the collection is many times higher.
In addition to world-renowned paintings, extremely valuable artefacts connected with the history of Poland, such as the Act of the Polish-Lithuanian Union in Horodło, manuscripts by Jan Długosz and mementoes of Polish monarchs, have come into your possession. "Lady with an Ermine" will soon appear in Kraków's Cloth Hall.