Stoats on the Square

While it’s hard to guess how many tourists come to Krakow specifically to see Leonardo da Vinci’s Lady with an Ermine, which now hangs in the Czartoryski Museum, it’s a safe bet to assume that it’s on most visitors’ “to see” list. And now, one aspect of this famous oil painting, the ermine (more commonly known as a stoat, though sometimes called a short-tailed weasel) has been made the subject of an art installation in the city.

Ottmar Hörl, the rector of the Academy of Fine Arts in Nuremberg, has been implementing projects connecting art with public spaces for years. His works consist of thousands of identical plastic figures, referring to the most important classical works of art or symbols of the city in which the installation is displayed. And in the case of Krakow, that happens to be da Vinci’s iconic little stoat.

The installation opened on Saturday on St. Mary Magdalene Square (across from The Church of St. Peter and St. Paul), and will be shown until 25 September. More information is available from the installation’s official website.