Lost in Plain Sight, the Often Unseen Language of Fine Art

Leonardo da Vinci's 'Lady With an Ermine'

A detail of “Lady With an Ermine (Portrait of Cecilia Gallerani),” circa 1490, by Leonardo da Vinci. Oil and distemper (paint that uses vegetable glue or animal glue, but not egg, as a binder) on panel; 21 inches by 15 1/2 inches. National Museum, Krakow, Poland. Public Domain

Without knowing the language of Renaissance art or the customs and etiquette of the day, anyone viewing Leonardo da Vinci’s painting “Lady With an Ermine (Portrait of Cecilia Gallerani)” might find it a little odd. It’s of a lady embracing a stoat (an ermine).

In its time, Leonardo’s portrait of Gallerani spoke volumes without uttering a word. Instead of syntax, Renaissance painters like Leonardo carefully strung a series of motifs together that portrayed their subjects’ status, character, and virtues. Renaissance viewers recognized this visual language of art, regardless of the language they spoke.

The meanings of these motifs had been set centuries before. Medieval Christians believed that each of God’s creations held a divine purpose, so they classified birds, animals, and even fantastical creatures in religious texts known as “bestiaries.” The bestiary detailed each creature’s habitat, location, and physical attributes and then connected the creatures to Christian morals and allegories.

The Morgan Library & Museum in New York holds a fascinating late-12th-century “Workshop Bestiary.” Its first illumination is of Christ. On the same page, two lions lick their stillborn cubs back to life, an allegory of Christ’s resurrection.

“Workshop Bestiary,” circa 1185, by unknown, possibly in Lincoln or York, England; 8 1/2 inches by 6 1/8 inches. Purchased by J. Pierpont Morgan. The Morgan Library & Museum, New York. Public Domain

Inspired by the bestiary tradition, 16th- and 17th-century emblem books became popular across continental Europe. These books contained religious and secular content, with artists sometimes looking back to ancient Greek and Roman literature such as “Aesop’s Fables” and Plutarch’s “Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans” for inspiration. Each entry in the emblem book had an illustration, a motto, and explanatory text.

What About Leonardo’s Ermine?

Leonardo made a bestiary of his own in his later years, with an entry for ermines that echoes other bestiaries. In it, he mentions that the ermine eats once a day, and it would sooner surrender to hunters than flee into its muddy den.

The ermine’s white winter coat therefore represented moral purity and moderation, and as such, the rich echelons of society prized the ermine’s pristine white fur with its black-tipped tail. European kings and queens even wrapped themselves in ermine coronation cloaks, silently announcing that they'd reign with moral purity and moderation.

“The Ermine as a Symbol of Purity,” circa 1494, by Leonardo da Vinci. Pen and brown ink over traces of black chalk on paper; diameter: 3 1/2 inches. The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, England. Public Domain

Leonardo illustrated the ermine’s behavior well in his pen and ink drawing “The Ermine as a Symbol of Purity.” In the drawing, a hunter is about to kill the creature. The ermine doesn’t flinch or flee. It would rather die than soil its pure white fur while escaping.

Why a Lady Embraces a Rodent

In his “Lady With an Ermine,” Leonardo painted 16-year-old Gallerani in a rich velvet and brocade dress, with her head turned in the opposite direction of her body, a dynamic pose for the time. Renaissance painters portrayed maidens available for marriage with their hair loose, while betrothed or married ladies wore their hair parted in the middle and tied back. Leonardo depicted Gallerani’s hair neither up nor down, but in a coazzone, a Spanish-style braid popular in northern Italy. Her hair is bound at the back yet wrapped around her face, with a headband circling her forehead that holds a gold-edged veil in place.

“Lady With an Ermine (Portrait of Cecilia Gallerani),” circa 1490, by Leonardo da Vinci. Oil and distemper (paint that uses vegetable glue or animal glue, but not egg, as a binder) on panel; 21 inches by 15 1/2 inches. National Museum, Krakow, Poland. Public Domain

He painted the ermine’s head mirroring Gallerani’s pose, suggesting that the young lady aligns with the ermine’s emblematic purity and modesty.

However, hidden meanings also lie in Gallerani’s ermine. Some scholars believe it represents Gallerani’s name, “Gale” being Greek for ermine. Others believe it indicates Gallerani’s connection with Leonardo’s most important patron, the Italian regent and Duke of Milan, Ludovico Sforza, who commissioned the painting and who belonged to the chivalric Order of the Ermine. The order’s motto was “MALO MORI QVAM FOEDARI,” Latin for “Death rather than dishonor.”

Many Renaissance paintings like Leonardo’s “Lady With an Ermine” hold entire stories like this—rich in tradition and iconography.