LADY WITH AN ERMINE by Leonardo da Vinci, 1489, Oil on wood panel, 54 cm × 39 cm (21 in × 15 in)
THIS PAINTING IS NOW AVAILABLE AS A HANDMADE OIL PRODUCTION FROM 1ST ART GALLERY: www.1st-art-ga...
ABOUT THIS PAINTING: There exists only four completed female portraits by Leonardo Da Vinci; the Mona Lisa being the most famous. This painting, known as Lady With An Ermine, though not as famous, is a beautiful portrait and a bit of a curiosity.
The sitter is Cecilia Gallerani, a woman of humble background. She was 16 at the time of this portrait and was the mistress of the Ludovico Sforza, the Duke of Milan. Their short-lived affair, produced an illegitimate son, which didn't sit well with duke's new wife who forced him to end the relationship by marrying Cecilia off to a local count named Bergamino.
In 1489, DaVinci was requested by the Duke to make this portrait.
Cecilia wears an unadorned and pleasant countenance, unassuming and devoid of artifice. Her hair conforms tightly to the shape of her head; parted in the middle, it comes down, covers her cheeks and is braided and bound in a casing under her chin. She sports a fashionable Spanish-style dress and her black beads set off her pale skin.
DaVinci favored a 3/4 view for portraits, that is portraits seen at an angle rather than in profile or head on. However, he takes the pose one step further with the model’s dramatic turn to her left as if something or someone has caught her attention.
The elephant in the room is this ermine cradled in her arms. The ermine was prized for its fur, used to adorn royal and ecclesiastical garments.
However in this painting the ermine symbolizes moderation and purity. As DaVinci noted “The ermine out of moderation never eats but once a day, and it would rather let itself be captured by hunters than take refuge in a dirty lair, in order not to stain [its white coat].”
Also during the Renaissance the ermine was thought to represent pregnancy, and it seems clear Cecilia was pregnant by the way her left arm holds her midsection.
Though a wonderful portrait, I doubt the Duchess allowed the Duke to hang it in the house.
Негізгі бет DON'T TELL THE DUCHESS!: Lady With An Ermine by Leonardo da Vinci
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