#1 - JRL 7403
VLADIMIR PUTIN DISAGREES WITH ITALIAN INTERPRETATION OF
LEONARDO DA VINCI'S MADONNA LITTA
ROME, November 5, 2003. /RIA Novosti special correspondent/. Vladimir Putin shared his attitude to Leonardo da Vinci's "Madonna Litta" at the opening ceremony of this painting's exposition.
"When I was a schoolboy and a student I often visited the Hermitage and looked at Madonna Litta. I was feeling at home by its side," the Russian President said.
He does not agree with the interpretation of Leonardo's painting given by Italian experts. "Each person has his own comprehension of the great art", Putin noted. "Madonna is really looking at the baby as if stressing that he is in the center of the composition. But he, the Saviour, is looking at us as if saying: I know that it is hard but I am with you," Vladimir Putin said.
According to him, "Madonna Litta" has left the Hermitage for the third time since its appearance in the Hermitage in 1865. For the first time it happened "during World War II when there was a real threat it and the painting was taken into a safe place and when it was exhibited in Milan in the late 1980s".
The current exposition of Leonardo da Vinci's painting in Rome is a response to Italy's action, Putin said. In 2002 Titian's "Venus of Urbino" was exhibited in Moscow.
"We shall see many exchanges in the future, including the exhibition 'Russia-Italy: Through Centuries' under the patronage of the two presidents. But still the exposition of Madonna Litta is a special event," Vladimir Putin said thanking his Italian counterpart for hosting this exposition.
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