Displaying items by tag: palazzo reale

It is fitting that the first major outing for Leonardo’s newly restored "La Belle Ferronnière" is to the city where the work was made five centuries ago. The painting, which is in the collection of the Louvre, Paris, has returned to Milan for Leonardo, 1452-1519, now on show at Palazzo Reale (until July 19). The Italian exhibition has been timed to coincide with the Milan Expo (May 1 - October 31). The work is also due to travel to the United Arab Emirates in 2016 for the opening of the Louvre Abu Dhabi.

The sitter’s fine features and most of her delicate complexion have been recovered, thanks to restorers at the Centre de Recherche et de Restauration des Musées de France.

After more than 17 years, police have reopened the investigation into a theft from the Ricci-Oddi Gallery in northern Italy. In February 1997, while the gallery was undergoing a renovation, thieves made off with Gustav Klimt’s “Portrait of a Woman.” The assailants, who either entered the gallery through the main entrance or removed the work through the building’s skylight, left a partial fingerprint on the painting’s frame. Investigators hope that today’s state-of-the-art technology will help identify a DNA match for the print.

The Klimt painting, which depicts a dark-haired woman, was acquired by the Ricci-Oddi Gallery in 1925. “Portrait of a Woman” is one of the most sought-after stolen paintings in Italy.

Klimt, an Austrian symbolist painter, was one of the most prominent members of the Vienna Secession movement. He is currently the subject of an exhibition at the Palazzo Reale in Milan.