Art and Cultural Heritage ABA Meeting – Presentation of KIELTYKA GLADKOWSKI
Publication date: December 10, 2024
Poland is a country that can boast a rich history and culture, and in the world we stand out above all for two works of art that are considered to be museum objects of the “zero” class. The first is the Gothic Veit Stoss Altar in the St. Mary’s Church in Kraków, and the second is the Renaissance portrait of Leonardo da Vinci “Lady with an Ermine”. These works, although created at a similar time, constitute two different faces of art – sacred and secular – and at the same time symbols of Polish cultural heritage. My presentation today will be devoted to the exceptional Czartoryski collection which this painting is a part of. I would like to draw particular attention to the specific legal situation of this art collection, which for decades has stirred controversy both in Poland and abroad.
The Czartoryski Collection is a true treasure of Polish heritage. It was founded in 1801 by Princess Izabela Fleming-Czartoryska, who, guided by the idea of patriotism, gathered works of art and national memorabilia in her museum in Puławy. It was one of the first private collections in Europe created with future generations in mind. Its resources included not only paintings by Leonardo da Vinci and Rembrandt, but also numerous manuscripts, old prints and objects related to the history of Poland. However, the history of this collection, like the fate of our country, was extremely turbulent.
Leonardo da Vinci painted the painting around the year 1490. The artist portrayed Cecilia Gallerani , a 17-year-old lady of the Milanese court, the lover of Duke Lodovico Sforza. Prince Adam Jerzy Czartoryski bought the painting in Italy around 1800 in unknown circumstances and gave it to his mother – Princess Isabella née Fleming Czartoryska, who in 1801 opened the first public museum in Poland in Puławy.
In 1882, Prince Władysław Czartoryski – Izabela’s grandson – placed the painting in the Arsenal donated by the commune and housed the family collection in the purchased buildings.
During World War I, the Czartoryskis, fearing that the Russians would enter Kraków, evacuated their most valuable works to Dresden. There, “The Lady” was shown – alongside Raphael’s “Portrait of a Young Man” and Rembrandt’s “Landscape with the Good Samaritan” – in the local museum.
During World War II, the most valuable part of the collection was evacuated first to the Czartoryski family estate in Sieniawa, then further east, to Pełkinie. First intercepted by the Gestapo, and then by German experts in the registration and protection of art treasures, the collection was deposited in the Jagiellonian Library, and in 1940 the “Lady” reached Berlin. Hermann Goering, Adolf Hitler, Hans Frank wanted to have it in their collections, who in March 1943 brought the painting back to Krakow for an exhibition of works of art from the General Government.
The “Lady with an Ermine”, stolen by the Germans, was found by the Americans at the end of the war and placed in a repository in Munich, from where Karol Estreicher brought it to Poland on the same “treasure train” that returned the Veit Stoss altarpiece to Kraków.
In 1991, the Princes Czartoryski Foundation was established at the National Museum in Kraków.
What is innovative about Cecilia Gallerani’s portrait ? “The model is shown in an innovative pose – in motion, when she turns her head back. For the first time, the artist also used his famous sfumato – a misty veil blurring the contours. At that time, no one was able to show an animal so that it looks alive, and a human being so “real”, as if it were a photograph. This is the first psychological portrait in the history of world art, and a very modern one at that.
What makes “Lady with an Ermine” unique is that it is one of only 15 paintings by Leonardo da Vinci that have survived to our times.
It should be noted that the real legal and administrative challenges emerged after World War II, when the collection found itself in a unique and extremely complicated legal situation.
Formally, the collection remained the property of the Czartoryski Princes Foundation, established by the family to manage and protect the collection. In practice, however, control over them was taken over by the National Museum in Kraków[1]– a state institution responsible for the storage, conservation and exhibition of the works. This duality – private ownership and state control – led to numerous legal and practical problems.
Under post-war regulations, including decrees from 1945 and 1946 on abandoned and former German property, the state claimed the right to manage the collections, justifying this in the public interest and the need to protect cultural assets. Although the formal status of ownership was not changed, the owners were de facto deprived of the possibility of using the collections. These works were protected by the provisions of later acts, such as the Act of 15 February 1962 on the Protection of Cultural Property (Journal of Laws of 1999, item 1150, of 2000, item 1268, of 2002, items 253 and 984 and of 2003, item 717), which imposed numerous restrictions on owners, including a ban on exporting historical monuments abroad without the state’s consent.
The state argued that such regulations were necessary to prevent the loss of national heritage. At the same time, however, the National Museum, as the actual manager of the collections, also did not have full freedom in their use. For example, works could not be loaned to foreign exhibitions or commercially exploited without complicated legal procedures. This specific model – formal private ownership with full state control – was almost unheard of in the world and aroused controversy both in the country and among the international museum community.
One of the basic legal problems was also the issue of restrictions imposed on the owner by the provisions of the Act of 23 July 2003 on the protection and care of monuments (uniform text Journal of Laws of 2024, item 1292). According to this Act, all works entered in the register of monuments – including almost the entire Czartoryski collection – were subject to special regulations. The key here were again the provisions concerning the ban on the export of monuments abroad without the consent of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage (Articles 51 – 56 of the Act of 23 July 2003 on the protection and care of monuments (uniform text: Journal of Laws of 2024, item 1292)). This meant that the owners of the collection, although formally they had the right to it, could not freely dispose of the works.
Moreover, the collection was subject to conservation supervision, which resulted from the provisions of the Act of 23 July 2003 on the protection and care of monuments (uniform text: Journal of Laws of 2024, item 1292) (chapter 4 – conservation supervision). Each decision regarding the conservation, transfer or commercial use of works required the consent of the relevant authorities, which effectively limited the rights of the owners. On the other hand, the National Museum, which managed the collection, also encountered difficulties. As a state institution, it had to comply with strict regulations on the protection of monuments, which prevented, for example, lending works to foreign museums or their commercial use. This situation led to a paradox: both the owner and the manager had their hands tied.
In the international context, this situation was absolutely unique. In most countries, such as the United States or France, the owner of a work of art – whether a private person or a public institution – has the right to freely manage his or her property. If the work is considered to be of particular importance to the national culture, the state can at most impose restrictions on its sale or export, but such a far-reaching separation of ownership and possession is rarely achieved. In Germany, for example, the state has the right to buy a work of art in special situations, but it never allows a situation in which the owner is completely deprived of the possibility of using his or her own collection.
The solution to this problem in Poland occurred only in 2016, when on December 29, the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage decided to buy the Czartoryski collection containing 86,000 museum objects and 250,000 library objects. This transaction was possible thanks to the provisions of the Act of November 21, 1996 on museums (uniform text: Journal of Laws of 2022, item 385), which gives the state the possibility of taking ownership of collections of particular importance to the national heritage, and in accordance with the regulations contained in the Act of September 11, 2019 – Public Procurement Law (uniform text: Journal of Laws of 2024, item 1320). The entire transaction was thoroughly checked by the Supreme Audit Office. All documents related to it are publicly available. Under these acts, the Ministry paid the Czartoryski Princes Foundation the amount of EUR 100 million[2]. It is worth emphasizing that the market value of the “Lady with an Ermine” alone is estimated at several hundred (approximately 300) million euros, which makes this transaction extremely beneficial for the Polish state.
The purchase of the collection was of great importance from both a legal and cultural point of view. First, the state gained full ownership rights to the collections, which allowed for better management and more effective promotion in the international arena. Second, it ended a long-standing conflict between the Foundation and public institutions, ensuring peace around one of the most important treasures of Polish culture.
The history of the Czartoryski collection is not only a story about works of art, but also about the legal challenges associated with protecting national heritage. The solution to this problem shows how important it is to adapt the Polish legal system to international standards. The inclusion of the Czartoryski collection in public resources was a milestone in the protection of our heritage, providing certainty that these priceless collections will remain in Poland and will be available for future generations. It is also a reminder that law, although complicated, is a key tool in building awareness and concern for our common good.
[1]https://mnk.pl/
[2]http://mkidn.gov.pl/pages/posts/komunikat-mkidn-ws.-pojawiajacych-sie-w-space-publicznej-nieprawdziwych-informacji-dotyczacych-zakupu-kolekcji-ksiazat-czartoryskich-8254.php
