Leonardo da Vinci's and his KNOWN Females

Lady with an Ermine is an early work of Leonardo da Vinci's dating from the 1480s.

There is disagreement concerning the identity of the sitter in many of his portraits. Some historians consider that the sitter in this one is Cecilia Gallerani, mistress of Ludovico Sforza (the Duke of Milan and one of his biggest patrons). What is understood about the era is that Renaissance women contrived to look middle-aged before they were twenty. If this was truly Cecilia, she would only have been about seventeen at the time the portrait was painted. Another suggestion is that the painting is from a little later, around 1491, and that the woman is Ludovico's wife, Beatrice d'Este.The third theory is that the sitter may have been La Belle Ferronniere, a nickname given to the mistress of Francis I of France. Support for this idea came from an inscription in the upper left-hand corner which reads LA BELE FERONIERE LEONARD DA WINCI, most experts now consider this to be incorrect. The inscription is not original, but is a later addition, possibly to give identity to the sitter. Who would not have been desiring to be immortalized by Leonardo, a great master!


Ermines were animals symbolic of strength AND chastity. They were fastidious and cleaned their coat to keep it white. Thus including the ermine was a subtle way of attributing these characteristics to the sitter.

There is a wonderful visual description of the myriad of symbols used in the painting. The image is attached to this post but the article can be read by following the link.


For more information, go to http://www.lairweb.org.nz/leonardo/ermine.html.

Leonardo Painted THREE Ladies...Maybe Four...

A friend mentioned to me a great NOVA program she watched. Mystery of a Masterpiece detailed an incredible story of a POTENTIAL chalk drawing that MAY BE an unknown work by Leonardo da Vinci. The video and corresponding National Geographic Article was very complete in its description of the steps that were taken to authenticate the drawing.

Carbon dating brings the work to teh era in which Leonardo da Vinci lived. The clothing has been authenticated as Italian Renaissance as well. Once scholars gained the information that the work COULD have been created by Leonardo da Vinci as it is of the correct era and of a similar style, they were excited! They started to investigate the authenticity further!

Scholars have discovered the woman in the picture is Bianca Sforza, the young teen daughter of the Duke of Milan. She died young, not long after the painting was completed.

The artwork was created on vellum, not typically used by Leonardo da Vinci. Scholars have found a book about Sforza's marriage, the Sforziad, in the Polish National Library in Warsaw. The vellum page fits perfectly in the book.

The hypothesis that this work is an additional "LADY" of Leonardo is still being authenticated. Until then, we'll have to appreciate his Three True Ladies and eagerly await additional news about this forth beautiful woman.