Renaissance1489-1490
Lady with an Ermine
Leonardo da Vinci
Curator's Eye
"The ermine, a symbol of purity and belonging to the Duke of Milan, seems alive under Cecilia’s slender fingers. Observe the gaze turned toward an invisible source: Leonardo here paints the moment of a thought, a major psychological revolution."
An absolute masterpiece of the Renaissance, this portrait of Cecilia Gallerani by Leonardo da Vinci revolutionized portraiture. By introducing the movement of the soul through an unprecedented torsion of the body, Leonardo captures the intelligence and grace of a Milanese noblewoman.
Analysis
The stylistic analysis of *Lady with an Ermine* reveals Leonardo’s genius in capturing what he called "moti mentali" (movements of the mind). Cecilia Gallerani, then mistress of Ludovico Sforza, is depicted in a complex "contrapposto" pose: her body turns to the left while her head pivots to the right. This dynamic movement breaks with the tradition of rigid profile portraits of the time, creating a new interaction between the subject and the surrounding space. The dark background, though reworked later, accentuates the luminous presence of her face and the ermine, highlighting an unprecedented anatomical knowledge.
The historical context takes us to the heart of the Sforza court in Milan, where Leonardo served not only as a painter but also as an engineer and festival organizer. Cecilia was a woman of immense culture, a poet capable of conversing with the greatest scholars. This portrait is thus not merely that of a favorite, but of a Renaissance intellectual. Leonardo uses light to sculpt shapes, employing a subtle sfumato to soften contours and give an impression of pulsating life, far from the coldness of classical representations of nobility.
Symbolically, the ermine plays a multi-dimensional role. It refers to Ludovico Sforza, nicknamed "l'Ermellino" for his membership in the Order of the Ermine, but it also symbolizes purity according to medieval bestiaries (the ermine preferring to die rather than soil its fur). This link between the woman and the animal creates a complex allegory of fidelity and virtue. Cecilia's hand, painted with breathtaking anatomical precision—one can sense the tendons and veins—caresses the animal with a gentle authority reflecting her social position.
Finally, the psychological dimension of the work lies in the apparent incompleteness of the gaze. By turning her eyes away from the viewer, Cecilia seems to react to an external presence or a sound, giving the painting a temporal narrative. Leonardo does not paint a static icon, but a person inscribed in time. This ability to suggest inner thought through a physical posture marks the birth of the modern portrait. Every detail, from the black jet beads to the dress embroidery, serves a harmony that transcends simple physical resemblance.
One of the most fascinating secrets revealed by Pascal Cotte's multispectral analyses is that Leonardo painted the work in three distinct stages. Initially, it was a portrait without an animal. Then, Leonardo added a small grey ermine, before finally transforming it into the majestic, muscular white ermine we see today. This discovery proves that the animal was not planned at the start but was integrated to strengthen the political and symbolic dimension of the painting at the request of the artist or his patron.
Another mystery concerns the background. Although it appears totally black today, analyses have shown that it was originally a deep grayish blue. The current black is the result of a 19th-century restoration, probably done in Poland after the acquisition by the Czartoryski family. This modification radically changed the perception of space, removing the airy atmosphere Leonardo loved to create to give it a more dramatic and contrasted appearance, typical of the Romantic era taste.
Fingerprints were also found on the paint surface, particularly on Cecilia’s face. This confirms that Leonardo used his fingers to blend colors and create his famous sfumato, a technique allowing him to achieve almost invisible transitions between shadow and light. These direct traces of the master's hand add an intimate and organic dimension to the masterpiece. Moreover, the black beads worn by Cecilia are not mere ornaments; they represent the Spanish fashion introduced to Milan, highlighting the court's diplomatic ties.
Finally, scientific analysis revealed that the ermine's structure is anatomically hybrid. Leonardo likely took inspiration from a ferret for the body shape, as the wild ermine is much smaller. By enlarging the animal, he could give it the appearance of a "miniature lion," emphasizing Ludovico Sforza's strength. The precision of the animal's claws contrasts with the softness of the lady’s hand, creating a visual dialogue between mastered wild nature and the refined culture of the Milanese court.
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