From the Renaissance to Krakow: The History and Art of the Lady with an Ermine
"Lady with an Ermine" by Leonardo da Vinci , painted between 1489 and 1490, is a portrait that captures the elegance and mystery of Cecilia Gallerani, the young lover of Ludovico Sforza, known as il Moro, regent and future Duke of Milan. The Lady with an Ermine is one of the very few works by Leonardo that portray a woman. Many have been lost.
The Lady with an Ermine is now kept in the Czartoryski Museum in Kraków, and is one of Poland's national treasures. Adam Jerzy Czartoryski, son of Izabela Czartoryska, became the owner of the Lady with an Ermine through his family's acquisitions. It was his mother, Izabela, who established the Czartoryski family art collection in the early 19th century, with the aim of preserving Polish cultural heritage. The Lady with an Ermine became part of this collection around 1800, when Izabela probably purchased it in Italy, along with other works of art, to be exhibited in the Czartoryski Museum founded in Puławy.
The work
The work depicts a young woman portrayed in half-length, with her body turned to the right but her face turned to the left, creating a dynamic play of perspective and movement. This effect is further emphasized by the torsion of the animal she is holding, an ermine, which moves in a complementary way to the figure of the woman. This contrast between poses, called "contrapposto", was a technique already explored by Leonardo, for example in the figure of the angel in the Virgin of the Rocks .
The contrapposto technique in paintings, as well as in sculpture, is an artistic device used to give greater realism and dynamism to figures. It consists of depicting the human body in an asymmetrical position, with the weight shifted onto one leg and the other relaxed, creating a natural torsion of the torso. This play of oppositions between the different parts of the body, for example between the shoulders and the hips, generates a sense of movement, even in a static figure.
Born in classical Greek art, the technique was widely taken up by Renaissance artists, such as Leonardo da Vinci, who used it to give figures greater vitality and a three-dimensional effect. In the case of paintings, contrapposto does not only concern the position of the body, but can also concern the relationship between the body and the head, which can be turned in the opposite direction to the rest of the body, as seen in Lady with an Ermine. This technique helps make subjects more natural and realistic, breaking the rigidity of frontal or symmetrical representations.
The structure of the painting
The painting was prepared with a layer of white chalk followed by a brownish underpainting, a common practice for Leonardo. The application of the color is uniform and recalls that used for the famous Mona Lisa , although in some areas, such as the woman's skin, the paint appears more layered to obtain effects of depth and softness. A further peculiarity of the work are the subtle signs of "spolvero", visible in several areas, such as the outline of the face and head, as well as traces of underlying drawing, evident in the right arm and hand, in the left hand, on the upper part of the nose and on the edge of the hair. In addition, there are fingerprints on the ermine and on the woman's face, a detail often found in Leonardo's paintings, revealing his direct and tactile approach to painting.
Dust marks in oil paintings are traces left by a technique of transferring the preparatory drawing onto the surface to be painted. This technique consists of making the drawing on a sheet of paper, which is then perforated along the contours with small holes. The sheet is then placed on the surface of the support (canvas, wood or other), and a dark powder, such as charcoal or graphite, is rubbed through the holes. In this way, the powder passes through the holes, leaving a light trace on the support, which serves as a guide for the painter.
The wooden panel used for the painting is a single piece of walnut, a material that Leonardo favored, even if it was not commonly used by other Lombard artists of the time. The panel is very thin, with a thickness of only 4-5 millimeters, and scholars believe that it may come from the same tree used for another famous portrait by Leonardo, La Belle Ferronnière . The latter is related to The Lady with an Ermine not only for the wooden support, but also for the black background, a characteristic that these works have in common with the Portrait of a Musician , creating a sort of stylistic and compositional continuity in Leonardo's portraits of the time.
The painting, initially considered damaged and repainted in various parts, has been reassessed by recent experts such as Frank Zöllner, who describe it as being in excellent condition, similar to that of the Mona Lisa. In the past, scholars such as Kenneth Clark had argued that much of the painting had been repainted, but a 1992 technical analysis confirmed that the damage was limited to the background. Originally a bluish-grey, the background was repainted in black in the 18th century, and the signature "LEONARD D'AWINCI" was probably added at that time. There is slight overpainting on the nose and mouth, possibly by Eugène Delacroix. The idea that the background contained a window has been refuted by later studies. According to Martin Kemp, the painting shows the freshness of Leonardo's painting during his time at the Sforza court.
The Identity of the Lady
The subject of the painting has been identified with reasonable certainty as Cecilia Gallerani, the mistress of Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan and Leonardo's employer. Cecilia is looking to the left, out of the frame, where biographer Walter Isaacson suggests Ludovico might be. Her attire, a Spanish style in vogue at the time, includes a silk bernia over her left shoulder and an embroidered gold sash over a velvet dress, simplified by Leonardo to avoid compositional complications. Her hairstyle, called a coazzone, gathers her hair in a long braid and features such details as a veil of gauze and gold thread.
The painting follows a spiral pyramidal composition, typical of Leonardo, with Cecilia captured in the act of turning to the left, a testament to the artist's interest in the dynamics of movement. The court poet Bernardo Bellincioni suggested that Cecilia appeared to be listening to an invisible speaker, and Leonardo, with particular mastery, painted her hand with great realism, depicting details such as the nails, the lines of the knuckles and the tense tendons.
Recent studies have advanced an alternative hypothesis, which sees in this portrait an allegory of the strength of spirit and beauty of Caterina Sforza, the "lioness of Romagna", linking her to the myth of the Amazons, heroines of mythology. This reading remains a minority one, but offers a new symbolic interpretation of the painting.
Cecilia Gallerani
Cecilia Gallerani was born into a non-noble family, a fact highlighted by her simple clothing in the portrait. This detail is significant, since most of the women portrayed by the great masters of the time came from the high aristocracy and wore richly decorated clothes. Despite her modest origins, Cecilia stood out at court for her intelligence, education and beauty, qualities that brought her ever closer to Ludovico Sforza.
Thanks to her profound knowledge of literature and her ability to write verse in Latin and Italian, Cecilia became an admired intellectual figure. She was often praised for her sharp wit and called a "great light of the Italian language", so much so that she was compared to Sappho, the famous Greek poet of antiquity. These talents, together with her beauty, made her a favorite of Ludovico, who chose her as his lover.
Although the duke was engaged to Beatrice d'Este, the relationship between Ludovico and Cecilia remained strong for many years. In 1491, the same year that Ludovico officially married Beatrice, Cecilia gave birth to the duke's son, Cesare. After the end of her relationship with Ludovico, Cecilia married Count Lodovico Carminati de Brambilla, also known as Ludovico Bergamino. Cecilia's life continued in the Milanese environment, where she lived in Palazzo Carmagnola, a residence donated by the duke to his son Cesare.
Cecilia kept the portrait of the "Lady with an Ermine" in her private rooms, a sign of the importance of that work not only for its artistic beauty, but also for the profound personal value it represented. Cecilia Gallerani died in 1536.
The Symbols of the Lady with an Ermine
The portrait of Cecilia Gallerani is not only one of the most famous masterpieces of the Renaissance, but also a work full of symbolism and hidden meanings, which reflects the life, affections and role of the young woman at the court of Ludovico Sforza. The choice of the ermine, an unusual animal to portray, is not accidental and contains different readings related to love, politics and mythology.
Ludovico Sforza was known as the "White Ermine", a title bestowed upon him by the King of Naples in 1488 upon his entry into the Order of the Ermine, a knightly honor. The animal in Cecilia's arms could therefore symbolize Ludovico himself, alluding to their personal bond and the protection that the Duke guaranteed to the young woman. The ermine, in fact, was historically associated with purity and power, but also with fidelity, thus reinforcing the idea of a portrait that was not only aesthetic, but deeply intimate.
There is also a phonetic connection between Cecilia and the animal: the first part of her surname, "Galé", recalls the Greek term "galé", which means weasel or ermine. This play on words may have further motivated Leonardo in choosing the ermine, making the animal a double symbol: on the one hand it represented the duke, on the other it alluded directly to Cecilia, inextricably linking the two lovers through language and image.
The ermine also has a strong mythological connotation. In Greek legend, the figure of Galantis, Alcmene's maid, was transformed into an ermine by the goddess Hera as punishment for having helped Alcmene give birth to Heracles. This mythical reference could be a veiled reference to Cecilia's pregnancy: in 1491, in fact, shortly before Ludovico married Beatrice d'Este, Cecilia gave birth to the duke's son, Cesare. The ermine could therefore suggest the protective role that Ludovico assumed towards his lover and their son.
In his old age, Leonardo compiled a bestiary in which he noted: "The ermine, out of moderation, never eats more than once a day, and would rather let itself be captured by hunters than take refuge in a dirty den, so as not to stain its purity." He repeats this idea in another note: "Moderation restrains all vices. The ermine prefers to die rather than get dirty." A pen-and-ink drawing by Leonardo from around 1490, now in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, depicts an ermine representing these ideals by surrendering to a hunter.
Turning point in the history of art
In addition to its symbolic value, the "Lady with an Ermine" is considered a fundamental turning point in the history of art. Leonardo went beyond the traditional canons of the time, where female portraits were often static and in rigid poses. Cecilia's posture, with her body and gaze directed towards something outside the visual field, gives the figure an unprecedented sense of movement and vitality. The subject is not confined to a still space, but seems part of a larger scene, an approach that marked the beginning of the modern portrait.
The vicissitudes of the painting
The painting has had a fascinating and troubled history, especially during the 19th and 20th centuries. Its odyssey followed the tortuous paths of European history, especially those of the Czartoryski family, who were its custodians for a long time. During the November Uprising of 1830, the eighty-four-year-old Princess Izabela Czartoryska decided to save the work before the Russian invasion, hiding it and sending it to the family palace in Sieniawa, located about 150 kilometers to the south. The painting was later transferred to Paris, to the Hôtel Lambert, the residence of the Czartoryski family in exile.
After a long exile, the family returned to Poland in 1869 and settled in Kraków. However, due to the political and social turmoil of the time, including the German occupation of Paris in 1871 and the Commune, the Czartoryskis decided to bring the painting back to Kraków only in 1876. A few years later, in 1878, the Czartoryski Museum was opened in Kraków, where the work found a permanent home for several decades.
During World War I, the painting was temporarily moved to the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister in Dresden for safekeeping, but in 1920 it was returned to Kraków. The situation was further complicated by the outbreak of World War II. Anticipating the Nazi occupation of Poland, the work was taken back to Sieniawa, but the Germans discovered it and sent it to the Kaiser Friedrich Museum in Berlin. Hans Frank, Governor-General of occupied Poland, saw the painting in Berlin and ordered it to be returned to Kraków, where it hung in his offices at Wawel Castle. From there, the painting was moved to Wrocław and then returned to Kraków in 1943.
At the end of the war, the work was discovered by Allied troops at Hans Frank's country house in Schliersee, Bavaria, and in 1946 it was returned to Poland, where it returned to the Czartoryski Museum. During the 20th century, the painting traveled more than any other work by Leonardo da Vinci, being exhibited in cities such as Warsaw, Moscow, Washington, Malmö, Rome, Milan and Florence. Its status as a masterpiece led to it being requested for numerous international exhibitions.
The work remained on display at the Czartoryski Museum until the building was closed for renovation in 2010. Between 2017 and 2019 it was temporarily exhibited at the National Museum in Krakow, before returning to its historic home at the Czartoryski Museum on 19 December 2019, when the museum reopened. This history of constant transfers reflects not only the beauty and value of the painting, but also the historical vicissitudes of an often divided and conflicted Europe.
The Czartoryski Museum
The Princes Czartoryski Museum, located in Kraków, is one of the oldest and most prestigious museums in Poland, with a history closely linked to the vicissitudes of the Czartoryski family and the historical events of the country. Originally founded in 1796 by Princess Izabela Czartoryska in Puławy, the museum was created with the aim of preserving and honoring Polish culture and history through a collection of art and historical artifacts.
The museum's first collection was largely destroyed after the failed November 1830 uprising against Russian occupation. The family's property was confiscated, but many of the museum's treasures were saved and moved to France, to the Hôtel Lambert in Paris, the Czartoryskis' residence in exile. In 1870, Prince Władysław Czartoryski, Izabela's son, decided to return the collection to Poland, choosing Kraków as its new home. The works arrived in the city in 1876, and the museum officially opened to the public in 1878.
Among the most valuable works of art in the museum is of course the Lady with an Ermine. The collection, however, is not limited to this iconic work, but also includes two paintings by Rembrandt and a wide range of antiquities, sculptures, Renaissance tapestries and decorative arts. Other notable artists represented in the museum are Hans Holbein the Younger, Pieter Brueghel the Younger, Andrea Mantegna, Lorenzo Lotto and Lucas Cranach the Younger, to name a few. These masterpieces represent a fundamental part of European cultural heritage, covering a time span from the Renaissance to the Baroque.
After the main building was closed in 2010 for a major renovation, the museum reopened to the public in December 2019. During the closure, several works from the collection were exhibited in other venues, both in Poland and abroad. The reopening of the museum marked an important moment of rebirth for this institution, which continues to represent one of the beating hearts of culture and art in Kraków, attracting thousands of visitors from all over the world.
In addition to its artistic value, the Czartoryski Museum tells the story of a family that played a fundamental role in Polish history.