This portrait, painted by Leonardo da Vinci has been described as signalling a breakthrough in the art of psychological portraiture. The subject is sitting with her head slightly turned and in the act of petting the young ermine in her lap. Until then, portraits were generally set with the sitter directly facing the artist.
The Lady with the Ermine was painted in oils on wooden panel. Oils were still a relatively new medium, at that time paints were mostly made of crushed pigments dissolved in egg whites. Leonardo was one of the artists who adopted oils and skillfully exploited its qualities.
The model is Cecilia Gallerani, the mistress of Leonardo's patron Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan. Ludovico's nickname was 'the Moor' and the jet necklace Cecilia wears may be a reference to her lover. The stoat, or ermine, she holds (some sources say 'caresses') was often used in art as an emblem for pregnancy and childbirth which may suggest that Cecilia was carrying Ludovico's child. She was 15 when this portrait was painted in 1489.
The stamp was issued in November 1967 to showcase paintings from Polish Museums.
It is a lovely painting. My daughter loves it so much she has had a print of it on her wall since she was about ten (she's 21).
ReplyDeleteDid you also know that Da Vinci is known to have painted the ermine with his left hand? He wrote most of his notes in mirror-writing, and, it's thought, with his left hand, (so the ink wouldn't smudge) although there is some evidence that he was also right-handed too, ie ambidextrous.
One of my favourites too, I didn't know it was in a Polish museum, made me look to see which one. Definitely their pride and joy.
ReplyDeleteA great painting by a genius.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting. I hadn't heard about that painting before.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't familiar with this painting before, very interesting.
ReplyDeleteGreat choice. I have read about this painting before. they noted that the turn of the girl's head and turn of the ermine's head was not random - DaVinci was making a psychological connection there.
ReplyDeleteThank you for joining in this week!
I think it's an excellent interpretation and I got to see a lovely stamp, and learnt something to boot.
ReplyDeleteWow! I learned a lot from this post and stamp.
ReplyDeleteBut I can't believe she's 15 and already a mistress...
Such a pretty girl! Painted by a great master. And a wonderful stamp - thank you for your interesting posts!
ReplyDeleteFantastic entry VioletSky. Really beautiful stamp - beautiful painting - and fascinating insight into it. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting story to go with such a pretty stamp! :-)
ReplyDeleteIt is a beautiful stamp from a beautiful painting. I always learn something new here.
ReplyDeleteMaggie x
Nuts in May