This is a photo I took of Leonardo da Vinci’s Lady with an Ermine as it appears in the Czartoryski Museum. The reverse of the panel tells the story: an inventory number for Linz, and a Nazi seal.

The Raphael’s original frame hangs forlornly on the wall across the room from Leonardo’s Lady with an Ermine. Only a photograph of the missing Portrait of a Young Man provides a glimpse of this beautiful painting. Do you have information concerning this missing masterpiece?

This photo, and the next, were taken at Wawel Castle during our filming of The Rape of Europa. Wawel Castle was the headquarters of General Hans Frank, Governor General of Poland during Nazi occupation. This is a copy of page 38 of the catalogue of artworks assembled under the direction of Dr. Kajetan Mühlmann, who headed the “Special Commission for the Safekeeping of Works of Art in the Occupied Territories.” As used by the Nazis, “safekeeping” was a term that became synonymous with “stolen.” Note the entry for Leonardo’s Lady with an Ermine, stolen from the Czartoryski Collection.

On page 40 is the entry for Raphael’s Portrait of a Young Man which was also stolen from the Czartoryski Collection. Upon the arrest of General Hans Frank in 1945, American soldiers found both Leonardo’s Lady with an Ermine and Rembrandt’s Landscape with the Good Samaritan in his possession. Unfortunately, Raphael’s Portrait of a Young Man was, by then, missing. The catalogue containing these pages may be seen by viewing the photo album linked the footer collage.