Cecilia Gallerani - Leonardo da Vinci

Hey

It's been awhile since I've done an art post, when I'm in the middle of uni I get a bit sick of writing about it in essays that I just can't be bothered doing a post about it. I'd either have to be in the mood or be inspired by a painting.  During last weeks lecture when we were introduced into Milan I was inspired by a painting that I had studied before in high school so I was excited to see it pop up.

 

Lady with the Ermine, Leonardo da Vinci, c. 1489-90

 

When I first studied this painting she was nameless but on Friday I learnt her name was Cecilia Gallerani and she was the mistress of Ludovico Sforza, the Duke of Milan.  She was from a well connected family, was smart and a musician.  She has on two veils, her hair is pulled back and is holding an ermine with her hands being very prominent.  Her clothes are in a Spanish style which was fashionable at the time but is not encrusted with jewels such as the clothes the Duchess of Milan would be portrayed in.

 

The ermine is an important symbol with it representing purity and chastity and also because its fur was highly prized and used to line expensive clothing.  While she was the Duke's mistress she was chaste in the fact she loyal to him.  It's thought that the ermine is a substitute for the Duke with it blocking her off from the viewer.

 

My lecturer really likes this painting, she said it's more beautiful than the Mona Lisa and not worth being one of many trying to get a look at it. I still want to see the Mona Lisa but Cecilia is also on the top of my list.

 

Hope you all enjoyed this post! 

Mona Lisa Theft

Hey

So this semester I'm taking a really interesting paper about Art Crime which is basically artworks that have been stolen and most of the time have not yet been found.  For my first assignment we have to write a kind of encyclopaedia entry about an artwork, and of course I picked Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa.

 

 

While it was famous for being painted by the Italian master Da Vinci it became even more well-known in August the 22nd 1911 when it was stolen from the Louvre by Vincenzo Peruggia.  Peruggia was angered by the fact the painting was hung in France and believed it should by where it was created, it Italy.  Peruggia hid in a broom cupboard and when the museum closed he took the painting straight from the wall it hung on.  The painting was found in 1913 and before it was returned to the Louvre it toured around Italy which is kind of what the thief wanted. The women is believed to be Lisa Gherardini, wife of a Florentine cloth merchant named Francesco del Giocondo but is not 100% certain. Since then the painting has fascinated people including myself with her mysterious gaze, and the mystical background behind her.

 

Hope you enjoyed this post

      xoxo