Lady with an Ermine Mug – Leonardo da Vinci

About this piece

Leonardo da Vinci’s Lady with an Ermine is a remarkably vivid portrait of Cecilia Gallerani, a young woman at the Milanese court around 1490. She turns toward something outside the picture while holding a white ermine whose alert posture echoes her own. Leonardo’s careful modeling of light gives the face, hands, and animal convincing solidity, while the sitter’s movement suggests an unfolding moment rather than a formal pose. The ermine carried symbolic associations with purity and with Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan, whose court Leonardo served.