Leonardo da Vinci’s Renaissance masterpiece is the most recognizable piece of art, worldwide. A portrait of the wife of a wealthy Italian silk manufacturer would become an icon, both famous and infamous. What is it about this particular portrait that stirs us so? Is it the skill of the brushwork of the artist? Is it her enigmatic smile? Something more? Laura Morelli’s book, “The Stolen Lady”, a work of historical fiction, begins in Renaissance Italy, with Leonardo Da Vinci. We learn about many of his inventions, ideas, and his dreams of being remembered. Then he is contracted to paint a portrait of the wife of a wealthy silk merchant. The artist would work on this one painting for the rest of his life. Next, in a split-timeline narrative, it is 1939; Paris, France. We meet Anne, a typist within the Archives of the Louvre Museum. In details taken from real life, we follow Anne and a group of employees of “Musée du Louvre,” we see- decades later -how the priceless works of the Louvre are carefully kept out of Nazi hands. And what a journey this would be! Six years. Six separate moves. Will they be found (or worse) by German soldiers? Will they be able to hold on to the art? Will they survive??

https://graycity.net/laura-morelli/624903-the_stolen_lady.html

https://play.google.com/books/listen?id=AQAAAEDc4SCh7M