“Lady with an Ermine”
This fantastic oil on wood panel piece titled “Lady with an Ermine”, was painted in 1489-1490 by the Italian Renaissance master, Leonardo da Vinci. It is one of only four portraits of women that Leonardo painted during his lifetime. Along with the Mona Lisa, it is in good company.
The woman holding the ermine, or weasel, has been identified as Cecilia Gallerani, the mistress of the Duke of Milan, Ludovico Sforza, who Leonardo was working for at the time. She was just 16 years old at the time it was painted and was one of Leonardo’s closest women friends.
Different parts of this painting have been retouched over the years. The background has been darkened, which obscured a door that was originally present. Cecilia’s hair has been lengthened. The shadows between her fingers on her hand have been darkened. Her dress has been darkened as well. It would be interesting to see what Leonardo’s original vision had looked like.
Many aspects of this painting make it revolutionary and further support just how genius Leonardo was. First off, this oil painting was done in the very first years following the invention of oil as a medium. It appears that by this time, Leonardo had not only taken to the new art medium but had mastered it.
Second, Cecilia is depicted at a half turn, known as contrapposto, which was an art style actually invented by Leonardo. Prior to him, the sitters of portraits were usually depicted looking either straight on, or in full profile.
Thirdly, the very soft and subtle shading (shading without borders) that can be seen on Cecelia’s neck and face, called sfumato, was a technique also invented by Leonardo. In fact, his fingerprints were found on the painting, suggesting that he used his fingers to blend the paint.
“Lady with an Ermine” is currently on display at the Muzeum Narodowe w Krakowie in Kraków, Poland.
For more on Leonardo da Vinci, please visit his short biography here.
You can find more artists to learn about here.
