Debbie Blankenship
UHCLIDIAN STAFF

"Leonardo da Vinci and the Splendor of Poland" is an international exhibit currently on display at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, through Feb. 17.

The exhibit displays more than 70 original paintings from some of Europe's most talented painters such as da Vinci, Bernardo Bellotto, Giovanni Battista Crespi and Jan Matejko. Accompanying each painting is a brief description of the piece, the artist and the significance of the artwork.

One of the most famous and well-known pieces at the exhibit is da Vinci's "Lady with an Ermine." Gracing the middle point of the exhibit, it draws a huge audience to the museum.

Da Vinci was the first artist to capture the "sitter's" thoughts through posture and gestures. Painted in 1410, it is one of twelve paintings that da Vinci painted in his lifetime.

Some of the original works are religious in nature and coincide with certain passages from the Bible.

David Teniers the Younger captured the story of Daniel's night in a den of lions in his painting "Daniel in the Lion's Den." Matthias Stomer's "Saint Peter with Candlelight," depicts the biblical scene where Peter denies knowing Christ three times.

Audio tours give a better description of the paintings and recount the history behind the artist. They describe the cultural vitality of Poland through the history of its artistic patronage and collections. Not all paintings have this option. Those that do are clearly marked with a picture of a headset and a number. Digital audio devices and headsets are rented from museum staff at the entrance into the exhibit. During World War II, the Nazis, and then the Russians, confiscated many of the paintings at this exhibit. Fifty years later, the paintings were finally returned to Poland in 1989.

An interesting painting on the tour was Hans Suss Von Kulmbach's "Saint Catherine of Alexandria." The painting recreates the story of Catherine as a young and beautiful noblewoman who converted to Christianity. She refused to renounce her faith and persuaded 50 Roman philosophers to convert to Christianity. The Roman Emperor Maxentius sentenced Catherine to death on the wheel, but an angel saved her life. Eventually, Saint Catherine was beheaded.

Jan Matejko's "Sketch for the Astronomer Mikovaj Kopernik (Conversation with God)," is a painting of Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus who discovered that the Earth revolved around the sun.

Jozef Simmler's "Death of Barbara Radziwillowna," narrates the incredible love story of Barbara and Sigismund II Augustus, the last king of the Jagiellonian dynasty. In the summer of 1547, Radziwillowna secretly married King Augustus. She was crowned in 1550 and died on May 8, 1551.

The history behind this portrait is both tragic and romantic. One interpretation is that Radziwillowna caused of the fall of the powerful Jagiellonian House. The other interpretation focuses primarily on the love between Radziwillowna and Augustus.

Poland's culture and history are easily seen through the artists' paintings and brought to life with each piece.

The other major exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts, "Old Masters, Impressionists, and Moderns: French Masterworks from the State Pushkin Museum, Moscow" can be viewed until March 9.

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