Let me start by saying, this isn’t just average tale of art history. It’s the story of a beautiful seventeen-year-old girl, soon to give birth to a child, not of a beloved husband, but of a man who simply wanted her portrait. Although they were passionately in love, he could never marry her.
The man was a big shot of the Italian Renaissance era, and his soon-to-be wife was picked not out of love, but for political convenience. The famous artist Leonardo Da Vinci couldn’t depict the lovers together, but he left a hidden symbol of their love in the portrait.
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The Girl From Leonardo Da Vinci’s Painting
The star of the painting, „Lady with an Ermine”, is a woman named Cecylia Gallerani. For the longest time, her identity remained a mystery. I think it’s fascinating how the first guess that the woman was Cecylia came in 1900 from a scholar named Jan Bołoz Antoniewicz. People didn’t believe him, as they thought Cecylia was much older than the woman in the painting.
That’s why when a document discovered in the late 20th century showed that Cecylia was born in 1473, it blew everyone away. Someone had added an „X” into her birth date (which was written in Roman numerals) making her seem older than she was.
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Getting to Know the Enchanting Cecilia
So, who was this gorgeous woman in Leonardo’s painting? If you want a glimpse into her life, you need to know that she came from a family of Sienese refugees, not too rich but held in high esteem. Her father was a landowner and a clerk, while her mother was from a well-respected family of lawyers. Born and raised in Milan, Cecilia had six brothers and one sister and was the second to the last child.
Tragically, her father passed away when she was just 8 years old, leaving her and her sister with a dowry of 1000 ducats. I can tell that this might not have made her an ideal bride, as at the age of 10, she was betrothed to a Visconti family member. However, the wedding never happened, probably because Cecilia’s family couldn’t pay the dowry. Facing financial troubles, their property was seized.
In a twist of fate, Cecilia and her brothers found themselves at the court of Lodovico Sforza, the future Duke of Milan, and one of the Italian Renaissance’s most powerful men, in 1489. Being there, you need to know that Cecilia was more than just a pretty face. She was talented, intelligent, and artistic. She wrote poetry, played musical instruments, and sang beautifully. It’s no wonder that she quickly captured the heart of the Duke, twice her age. The rest, as they say, is history.
The Tale of the Young Muse and Her Duke
So, how old was our Cecilia in that iconic portrait? I can tell you that she was just shy of her 17th birthday. Despite being of marriageable age as per the laws of the time, her marriage prospects weren’t looking up. It’s worth noting that Cecilia was already carrying the child of her lover when she posed for Leonardo. But the Duke had to marry someone else – Beatrice d’Este, the daughter of the Duke of Ferrara, due to political compulsions.
Though Beatrice wasn’t particularly intelligent or stunningly beautiful – more of a party-loving girl with a taste for pricey outfits – she eventually won Lodovico’s heart. Leonardo’s painting could have been a gift for Cecilia when she birthed Lodovico’s son in May 1491. Or was it a goodbye present? I guess we’ll never truly know.
Tracing the Lives of Beatrice, Cecilia, and Their Shared Duke
Now you may wonder, what happened to this fascinating trio? Well, Lodovico tied the knot with Beatrice in January, a few months before Cecilia had his son. For a while, they all coexisted in the castle – Lodovico, his wife, Cecilia, and their son. Beatrice, understandably, wasn’t thrilled about this arrangement and demanded that her husband get rid of his mistress.
The situation took a turn when Lodovico decided to gift the women similar dresses. Beatrice insisted Cecilia not wear hers and finally demanded her expulsion. Perhaps tired of the domestic tension, Lodovico found a suitable husband for Cecilia – a nobleman named Lodovico Carminati de Brambilla.
Cecilia went on to live a full life, held a social circle in her literary salon, had more children, and even received a stunning palace and an estate from Lodovico. She passed away in 1536, having lived a good life indeed.
The Mystery of the Ermine in Leonardo’s Masterpiece
Another intriguing part of Leonardo’s painting is the pet that Cecilia is holding. When Izabela Czartoryska first got the painting, she remarked in her catalog that if it was a dog, it was a rather ugly one. The pet has been speculated to be an ermine, a weasel, or even a ferret.
It was initially believed to be a ferret, but that theory was quickly ruled out due to the negative connotations the word ’ferret’ carried for women back then. Later, some proposed it could be a weasel, the patron of good childbirth, considering Cecilia’s pregnant state. But the weasel’s appearance and coat color didn’t quite match with the creature in the painting.
Eventually, it was suggested that the animal could be an ermine, a relative of the weasel. Several clues led to this conclusion – the Greek name of the ermine „gale” is reminiscent of Cecilia’s surname – Gallerani, and the Italian name for ermine was an allusion to Lodovico, also known as „Ermellino bianco” or „white stoat„.
This was due to his knighthood in The Order of the Ermine, a fact he was particularly proud of. I believe the ermine in Cecilia’s arms may cleverly symbolized the romantic relationship between the lovers, which Leonardo couldn’t otherwise illustrate. This mysterious ermine, in a sense, encapsulated the forbidden love story of the two lovers.
Deciphering the Symbolic Animal in Leonardo’s Artwork
Many think that the image of the lovers symbolized by an ermine has its own romantic charm. However, the interpretation of the animal subject in the painting has evolved. At the „Leonardo da Vinci: A painter at the court in Milan” exhibition held a decade ago at The National Gallery in London, Leonardo’s sketches of various animal parts were put side by side.
The conclusion? Leonardo wasn’t going for a realistic portrayal of the animal.
The ermine in the painting has a larger head than it would in reality, its paws are bulkier, and the body proportions have been altered. Even though ermines were common in Lombardy and Leonardo would have been familiar with them, he crafted a lifelike hybrid.
This wasn’t just a portrait of an animal, but an emblem of love representing our painting’s two main characters. If you look at Leonardo’s other works like „Leda and the Swan„, the swan isn’t exactly a realistic bird either. It has a somewhat human, predatory, even lascivious touch to it. It is worth to say, Leonardo had a fondness for such hybrids, which made his art somewhat surrealist.
The Mysterious Journey of Leonardo’s Masterpiece
So, where did the painting go after Cecilia’s possesion? Post her death, the fate of the painting remains a mystery for over two and a half centuries. Finally, it found its way into the hands of the Czartoryski family. Adam Jerzy Czartoryski bought it for his mother, Izabela Czartoryska, who was creating a museum in Puławy. He found and bought the portrait under unknown circumstances during his time in Italy and brought it to Puławy.
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A Masterpiece Recognized Before Its Time?
Did the Czartoryskis realize the value of what they were buying? It was a different time, and Raphael’s art was more appreciated. Leonardo da Vinci’s work only gained popularity in the 19th century, and this painting arrived in Puławy around 1800. Yet, I do not believe Adam Jerzy was clueless about his purchase.
Despite the posibly fraudulent signature of an inverted „LV” on the painting’s lower-left corner, left there by someone looking to make the painting more saleable, Adam Jerzy knew he had a gem. It’s likely the painting had been altered before the sale, with the background repainted black (we now know it was initially dark gray), and some details were enhanced – the corals, lip color, etc. Being an educated man who frequented museums, drew himself, and had a keen eye for art, Adam Jerzy knew he had a good painting, perhaps even a Leonardo, on his hands.
A Painting that Travelled the World
„Lady” however, did not remain in Puławy for long. The painting’s journey is a story in itself. After the November Uprising, Izabela, out of fear of a Russian confiscation, transported the painting to the family estate in Sieniawa. Here, it was hidden behind a wall for eight years.
The painting then traveled to Paris, likely hanging in the private rooms of the Czartoryskis at the Lambert Hotel. In 1882, it found a new home in Kraków, at the Princes Czartoryski Museum, established in 1876. Since then, „The Lady” has been moved around approximately 50 times.
In recent years, it was transported in a specially designed case to protect it from changes in humidity, temperature, and vibrations. But, during its first travels around 500 years ago, it was probably fastened to a horse saddle, perhaps wrapped in canvas.
A War-Torn Journey
World War I and II were particularly hard on Poland’s art collections, many of which were plundered. „Lady” had a turbulent journey through the wars. During the First World War, the painting found itself in Dresden, only returning to the Czartoryskis in 1920 after many appeals.
In 1939, it had to be evacuated again, as it had piqued the interest of Herman Goering, Adolf Hitler, and Hans Frank. There was an attempt to hide „The Lady” in Sieniawa, but the hiding spot was discovered by the Germans, who seized the painting. However, it was eventually found in Munich after the war.
Leonardo’s Innovative Artistry
It’s worth noting the innovation that Leonardo brought to his work. „Lady with an Ermine” is considered the first psychological portrait in the history of art, expressing the emotions of the person portrayed: tension, curiosity, anticipation. The depiction of the woman is lifelike, and the ermine is rendered with similar realism, employing chiaroscuro techniques and anatomical accuracy.
For the first time, a figure’s movement was captured. The girl is turning her head, and the ermine follows her gaze, embodying the moment someone enters or exits the room, sparking the model’s curiosity. A subtle smile graces her face, a twinkle lights up her eye. Only Leonardo, with his deep knowledge of anatomy, could render a genuine smile, avoiding the forced grimace seen in others’ works.
He understood the structure of the eye, so he painted it not as a conventional shape, but as a lens. Through his mastery, we get the sense that blood pulses beneath her skin; she becomes an icon of youth, grace, and elegance. It is this lifelike vitality that makes the image so compelling.
The positioning of Cecylia’s body was innovative. Portraits of that time were typically in profile. „Lady with an Ermine” is regarded as the first „modern” painting in the history of art, reflecting Leonardo’s fascination with the dynamism of time, blossoming, and transformation.
A Vision of Transformation
The portrait captures Cecylia in a transitional phase, not yet a mother and mature woman, but no longer a child. The painting fuels imagination, teeming with clues and exuding an energy that makes it seem as if it has its own voice. You can almost hear sounds from it, even though the subject herself is silent. Cecylia’s face, compared to the Mona Lisa, appears lively and intelligent.
Despite our extensive knowledge about „The Lady”, there are still mysteries that continue to captivate us. Recent research has lifted another layer of intrigue. It was long believed that Leonardo was left-handed, but studies of „The Lady” have now challenged this notion. Evidence from the brushstrokes on the animal suggest that Leonardo was ambidextrous.
There have been critiques of the painting, like one from Karol Estreicher, who accused Leonardo of not finishing the painting because one of „The Lady’s” hands is not visible. However, Leonardo understood the play of light and shadow in a way that if something was hidden from the eye, it need not be painted. Thus, he used a brown primer to only suggest the presence of the hand in the shadows.
In 2012, further revelations emerged about some distressing moments in the painting’s history. The upper left corner of the painting had broken off at some point, presumably due to wood-eating pests weakening the panel. However, a true shock came with the discovery of the removal of the rail and stile set, a kind of wooden slat or frame, which had been glued to the back of the panel. The reason and timing of this removal remain enigmatic to this day, adding another element of mystery to this enduring work of art.
References:
- https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dama_z_gronostajem
- https://cekis.pl/relacje/historia-jednego-obrazu-dama-z-gronostajem-da-vinci/
