Lady with an Ermine
Lady with an Ermine | |
---|---|
Italian: Dama con l'ermellino, Polish: Dama z gronostajem | |
Artist | Leonardo da Vinci |
Year | 1489–1491 |
Medium | Oil on walnut panel |
Subject | Cecilia Gallerani |
Dimensions | 54 cm × 39 cm (21 in × 15 in) |
Location | Czartoryski Museum, Kraków, Poland |
The Lady with an Ermine[n 1] is a portrait painting widely attributed to the Italian Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci. Dated to c. 1489–1491, the work is painted in oils on a panel of walnut wood. Its subject is Cecilia Gallerani, a mistress of Ludovico Sforza ("Il Moro"), Duke of Milan; Leonardo was painter to the Sforza court in Milan at the time of its execution. It is the second of only four surviving portraits of women painted by Leonardo, the others being Ginevra de' Benci, La Belle Ferronnière and the Mona Lisa.[3]
Lady with an Ermine is now housed at the
Description
Composition
The painting was
Though there are a few areas of minor damage, art historian
The Lady
The subject has been identified with reasonable certainty as Cecilia Gallerani, the mistress of Leonardo's Milanese employer, Ludovico Sforza.[22] She looks to her left at something out of frame, toward the light, where the biographer Walter Isaacson suggests Ludovico is.[23] Following the marriage of Isabella of Aragon, Duchess of Milan and Gian Galeazzo Sforza, her 'Spanish style' dress would have been particularly fashionable.[12] She has a silk sbernia on over her left shoulder, though Leonardo has simplified the traditional manner of wearing—where it would be draped over both shoulders—potentially to avoid too much complication in the various elements of the painting.[12] Her right shoulder shows an ornately embroidered gold band over a velvet dress.[12] Again, Leonardo has simplified the design, by having the left shoulder band covered by the sbernia, so as to not take away from the animal's detailed head.[12] Her coiffure, known as a coazzone, confines her hair smoothly to her head with two bands of it bound on either side of her face and a long plait at the back. Her hair is held in place by a fine gauze veil with a woven border of gold-wound threads, a black band, and a sheath over the plait.[24][25]
As in many of Leonardo's paintings, the composition comprises a pyramidic spiral and the sitter is caught in the motion of turning to her left, reflecting Leonardo's lifelong preoccupation with the dynamics of movement.[26] The three-quarter profile portrait was one of his many innovations. Il Moro's court poet, Bernardo Bellincioni, was the first to propose that Cecilia was poised as if listening to an unseen speaker.[27] This work in particular shows Leonardo's expertise in painting the human form. The artist painted Cecilia's outstretched hand with a lot of detail, including the shape of each fingernail, the lines around her knuckles, and even the way the tendon in her bent finger moved as it bent[25]
A recent study brings to the forefront and supports another so far little-followed hypothesis: the heroic character of Caterina Sforza, the lioness of Romagna, is proposed as being the model of this allegorical representation in which the mental strength and beauty that were attributed to Amazons in mythology. [28][29]
The ermine
The animal resting in Cecilia's arms is usually known as an ermine. Commentators have noted that it is too large to be an actual ermine,[30] but its size is explained by its being of a largely symbolic nature. The art historian Luke Syson notes that "Naturalism is not the point here; Leonardo has created a mythical beast, the composite of several animals he drew at this time".[10] There are several interpretations of the ermine's significance and they are often used in combination with each other.[30][31][32] In its winter coat, the ermine was a traditional symbol of purity and moderation,[10] as it was believed it would face death rather than soil its white coat.[32]
In his old age, Leonardo compiled a bestiary in which he recorded: "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 purity."[33] He repeats this idea in another note, "Moderation curbs all the vices. The ermine prefers to die rather than soil itself."[34] A drawing by Leonardo in pen and ink of c. 1490, housed at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, depicts an ermine representing these ideals by surrendering to a hunter.[9] The ermine has also been noted to have a personal significance to Ludovico Sforza, as he would use it as a personal emblem, having been appointed by Ferdinand I as a member of the Order of the Ermine in 1488.[32] Alternatively, the ermine could be a pun on Cecilia's surname: The Ancient Greek term for ermine, or other weasel-like species of animals, is galê (γαλῆ) or galéē (γαλέη).[31] Such allusions were particularly popular in Renaissance culture;[30] Leonardo himself had done something similar in his earlier work, Ginevra de' Benci, when he surrounded Ginevra with a juniper tree, or ginepro in Italian.[35] Krystyna Moczulska suggests that the ermine follows the meaning of an ermine or weasel in classical literature, where it relates to pregnancy, sometimes as an animal that protected pregnant women. Around the time of the painting's creation, Cecilia was known to be pregnant with Ludovico's illegitimate son.[1]
Attribution
It was not until the 20th century that the Lady with an Ermine was widely accepted by scholars to be a work of Leonardo.[1] The attribution is due to the style of chiaroscuro, intricate detail and "contemplative tone" typical of Leonardo.[36]
Dating
The Lady with an Ermine can securely be dated to Leonardo's first Milanese period (c. 1482–1499).[37] Specifically, scholars date the painting to 1489–1491.[n 3]
Background
Historical context
To some extent the painting includes traditional characteristics of Italian portraiture from the 1430s and 1440s;[10] the coloring, for example, is particularly reminiscent of the Florentine quattrocento tradition.[21]
Commission
The sitter has been identified with reasonable certainty as Cecilia Gallerani, the mistress of Leonardo's employer, Ludovico Sforza.[n 4]
Gallerani was a member of a large family that was neither wealthy nor noble. Her father served for a time at the Duke's court. At the time of the portrait, she was about sixteen years old and was renowned for her beauty, scholarship and poetry.[40] She was married at approximately age six to a young nobleman of the house of Visconti, but sued to annul the marriage in 1487 for undisclosed reasons and the request was granted. She became the Duke's mistress and bore him a son, even after his marriage to Beatrice d'Este eleven years previously.[41] Beatrice was promised to the Duke when she was only five, and married him when she was sixteen in 1491. After a few months, she discovered the Duke was still seeing Gallerani, and forced the Duke to end the relationship by having her married to Count Ludovico Carminati di Brambilla, also known as Il Bergamino. The newly-wed couple was moved to Palazzo Carmagnola in Milan.[42]
History
It has always been known that Leonardo painted a portrait of Ludovico Sforza's mistress,
The painting travelled widely during the 19th century. During the
In 1939, anticipating the German occupation of Poland, it was again moved to Sieniawa,
The work remained displayed at the Czartoryski Museum until it closed for renovations in 2010. From May 2017 to 2019, it was exhibited in the
See also
Notes
- ^ The work is most commonly known as the Lady with an Ermine (Italian: Dama con l'ermellino [ˈdaːma kon lermelˈliːno]; Polish: Dama z gronostajem). It is sometimes known as the Portrait of Cecilia Gallerani,[1] the Portrait of an Unknown Woman, the Lady with a Ferret,[2] or the Lady with a Marten.[2]
- ^ Kwiatkowski himself, however, noted that they "had perhaps been abandoned by the artist himself during the final developmental stage of his work and as a consequence were erased [painted over] [...]".[20]
- ^ Scholars date the painting to c. 1489–1491:
- Kemp (2019): c. 1491
- Marani (2003, p. 339): 1489–1490
- Syson et al. (2011, p. 111): c. 1489–1490
- Zöllner (2019, p. 226): 1489/1490
- ^ Martin Kemp states "the identification of the sitter in this painting as Cecilia Gallerani is reasonably secure."[38] Janice Shell and Grazioso Sironi discuss the career of this identification since it was first suggested in 1900.[39]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Zöllner 2019, p. 226.
- ^ a b Ottino della Chiesa 1967, p. 101.
- ^ Palmer 2018, p. 79.
- ^ "Da Vinci's Lady with an Ermine among Poland's "Treasures" – Event – Culture.pl". Culture.pl. Ministry of Culture and National Heritage. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
- ^ "Poland secures bargain deal for Leonardo da Vinci and other works". BBC News. 29 December 2016. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
- ^ Berendt, Joanna (29 December 2016). "Poland Buys Czartoryski Family Art Collection". New York Times. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
- ^ "Leonardo da Vinci, "Dama z gronostajem"". Muzeum Narodowe w Krakowie (in Polish). 2017. Retrieved 26 May 2017.
- ^ "Dlaczego warto było zapłacić 100 mln euro za kolekcję z "Damą z gronostajem"". Forbes.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 17 January 2020.
- ^ a b c Zöllner 2015, p. 45.
- ^ a b c d Syson et al. 2011, p. 113.
- ^ Pedretti 2006, p. 64.
- ^ a b c d e Syson et al. 2011, p. 112.
- ^ Isaacson 2017, p. 243.
- ^ a b c Bull 1992a.
- ^ Bull 1992, pp. 76ff.
- ^ Bull 1992, p. 81.
- ^ Marani 2003, p. 177.
- ^ Isaacson 2017, p. 237.
- ^ Zöllner 2019, p. 225.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Marani 2003, p. 176.
- ^ a b Clark 1961, p. 54.
- ^ Kemp 2019, p. 49.
- ^ Isaacson 2017, p. 241.
- ^ Syson et al. 2011, p. 112–113.
- ^ a b Isaacson 2017, pp. 243–244.
- ^ Palmer 2018, p. 121.
- ^ Constantino 2001, p. 46.
- ^ Xavier d’Hérouville & Aurore Caulier (2023). "Caterina Sforza, the lioness of Romagna, immortalized as the Lady with an Ermine by Leonardo da Vinci ?". New York Times.
- ^ Xavier d’Hérouville & Aurore Caulier (2023). "Milanese escape game: "The Great Work of the anonymous master of the Italian Renaissance"".
- ^ a b c Kemp 2019, p. 50.
- ^ a b Clark 1961, p. 56.
- ^ a b c Marani 2003, p. 170.
- ^ Beck 1993, p. 188. Beck adds, "the artist left a pictorial record to accompany his written testimony—the famous Portrait of a Lady with an ermine (Czartoryski Collection, Cracow)
- ^ Beck 1993, p. 191.
- ^ Zöllner 2015, p. 20.
- ^ Vezzosi 1997, p. 60.
- ^ a b Syson et al. 2011, p. 111.
- ^ Kemp, Martin. "The Lady with an Ermine". Circa 1492: Art in the Age of Exploration. Washington-New Haven-London. pp. 271f.
- ^ a b Shell & Sironi 1992.
- ^ Beard 2018, p. 26.
- ^ Who was Cecilia Gallerani? Archived 2018-10-01 at the Wayback Machine, Barbara Fabjan and Pietro C. Marani, Exhibition notes, October 15, 1998
- ISBN 9783791386201, pp. 10–13.
- ^ Zöllner 2019, p. 158.
- ^ Bull 1992, p. 78.
- ISBN 9788391525050.
- ^ "The Archives; Photos". Monuments Men Foundation. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
- ^ a b c d Muchnic 2003.
- ^ "Leonardo da Vinci "Lady with an Ermine"". Wawel Royal Castle. Archived from the original on 7 July 2017.
- ^ Stanford 2011.
- ^ "Kraków reopens Czartoryski Museum". Thefirstnews.com. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
Sources
- Books
- Beard, Lee (2018). 30-Second Great Art; From Masaccio to Matisse, 50 Artworks That Changed the Way We See Things. Ivy Press. ISBN 9781782405528.
- OCLC 187223.
- Ottino della Chiesa, Angela (1967). The Complete Paintings of Leonardo da Vinci. Penguin Classics of World Art. London: ISBN 978-0-14-008649-2.
- Constantino, Maria (2001). Leonardo. PRC. ISBN 9781856486163.
- ISBN 978-1-5011-3915-4.
- ISBN 978-1-4549-304-26.
- Marani, Pietro C. (2003) [2000]. Leonardo da Vinci: The Complete Paintings. New York: ISBN 978-0-8109-3581-5.
- Palmer, Allison Lee (2018). Leonardo da Vinci: A Reference Guide to His Life and Works (Significant Figures in World History). Lanham: ISBN 978-1-5381-1977-8.
- ISBN 978-0-3844-5281-7.
- ISBN 978-1-8440-6036-8.
- ISBN 978-1-85709-491-6.
- ISBN 978-0-500-30081-7.
- Wasserman, Jack (1975). Leonardo da Vinci. New York: ISBN 978-0-8109-0262-6.
- ISBN 978-3-8365-0215-3.
- ISBN 978-3-8365-7625-3.
- Journals and articles
- JSTOR 1483451.
- Brown, David Alan (1983). "Leonardo and the Idealized Portrait in Milan". Arte Lombarda. 64 (4): 102–116. JSTOR 43105426.
- Bull, David (1992). "Two Portraits by Leonardo: "Ginevra de' Benci" and the "Lady with an Ermine"". Artibus et Historiae. 13 (25): 67–83. JSTOR 1483457.
- JSTOR 41373924.
- ISBN 9781884446054. (subscription or UK public library membershiprequired)
- Shell, Janice; Sironi, Grazioso (1992). "Cecilia Gallerani: Leonardo's Lady with an Ermine". Artibus et Historiae. 13 (25): 47–66. JSTOR 1483456.
- Online
- Bull, David (1992a). "Leonardo: Lady with an Ermine: Preservation and scientific examinations". Art Galleries. Archived from the original on 1 October 2018. Retrieved 12 February 2009.
- Muchnic, Suzanne (1 April 2003). "An intriguing tale of survival". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles. Archived from the original on 30 March 2019. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
- Stanford, Peter (12 November 2011). "Will The Lady with an Ermine topple the Mona Lisa as the world's favourite painting?". London: The Telegraph. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
- Wallace, Marina; Kemp, Martin. "Portrait of Cecilia Gallerani (The Lady with the Ermine)". London: University of the Arts, London. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
Further reading
- Fabjan, Barbara; Marani, Pietro C. (1998). Da Leonardo: La Dama con l'ermellino [From Leonardo: The Lady with an Ermine] (in Italian). Milan: Silvana. ISBN 978-88-8215-100-3.
- Collinsworth, Eden (2022). What the Ermine Saw: The Extraordinary Journey of Leonardo Da Vinci's Most Mysterious Portrait. New York: Doubleday Books. ISBN 9780385546119.