Behind the Art: Why is Lady with an Ermine by Leonardo Da Vinci (1489–1491) so iconic?

Cecilia Gallerani was an alluring young woman who was the favourite mistress of the Duke of Milan Ludovico Sforza. She was 16 years old when Da Vinci was commissioned to paint her portrait and was presumably pregnant at the time. She was known for her beauty, scholarship and poetry skills. She became the Duke’s mistress and bore him a son, even after his marriage to Beatrice d’Este eleven years previously. After a few months, Beatrice 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 newlywed couple moved to Palazzo Carmagnola in Milan. Thus ended the intense love affair between the Duke and Gallerani. But her portrait by Da Vinci remains a symbol of the love they shared.

The shocking journey of the portrait

It is part of the Princes Czartoryski Collection, which was sold for €100 million on 29 December 2016 to the Polish government by the Princes Czartoryski Foundation, represented by Adam Karol Czartoryski. (Photo: picryl.com)

The painting The Lady With An Ermine came into Polish hands in 1800, after the young Prince Adam Czartoryski bought it during his tour of Italy. The painting was for his mother, who was a keen collector and the founder of the Czartoryski Museum. The way Princess Izabela handled this masterpiece would probably have given modern historians a heart attack. She did not like the blue background colour used by Da Vinci in the painting so she got it painted all jet black and then painted on an erroneous title ‘La Belle Ferronniere” (a portrait that now hangs in the Louvre). As if this was not enough, her dress below the ermine was retouched and a transparent veil being worn by the woman was repainted to match the colour of her hair. The result of this last retouching has been to give the appearance that her hair reaches down and underneath her chin. And there was the addition of dark shadows between the fingers of her right hand, a close look at the bottom two fingers shows they are quite inferior to the others after an unknown restorer repainted them. An x-ray of this painting revealed the presence of a door in the original background. Luckily the ermine was left untouched although the Princess did comment “If it’s a dog, it’s a very ugly one” upon receiving the portrait from the heroic Prince Adam. Da Vinci’s painting not only had to go through such intense transformations but was also forced into exile on many occasions, walled up in hidden cellars in country palaces and then stolen by Cracow’s wartime Nazi governor.

Why is the lady holding an ermine?

The sitter in the painting is holding a white ermine which the Princess of Poland referred to as an ‘ugly dog’. Art experts first thought that Da Vinci used the animal as a decorative element of the painting. However, it was later determined that the animal is an allusion to Lodovico Sforza as he sometimes went by the name ‘ermelino bianco’ (white ermine). This portrait is a love letter from Sforza to his mistress and since he could not pose with her in it, Da Vinci uses the animal to signify his undying love for Gallerani. The ermine also covers the pregnancy of Gallerani at the same time. Da Vinci was also known to study animals and it is known that in its winter coat, the ermine was a traditional symbol of purity and moderation. 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.

Why is this portrait so important?

It has been well over 500 years since Da Vinci painted this and yet people still flock to see this masterpiece in person. According to art historians, it is the first portrait of the modern age in the world. The portrait is a great example of Leonardo’s painting style and his unique light and shadow crossing. Some also claim this is the first renaissance painting of a woman that shows her personality and mind, not only her beauty. Holding some similarity to the Mona Lisa, Da Vinci painted the sitter of the painting in such a way that it seems as if she is moving her gaze. The technique of painting a static image with a sense of motion in it is another reason why this painting is so loved by the art world. After all, it is by Da Vinci and anything that man touched turned into gold. So much so that in 2011, during a trip around Europe, the painting was insured for 300 million Euros.

Next up in Behind the Art: What makes Salvator Mundi by Leonardo da Vinci, worth $450.3 million, one of the most expensive paintings in the world? Is it also the world’s most controversial painting?

📣 For more lifestyle news, follow us on Instagram | Twitter | Facebook and don’t miss out on the latest updates!