Tags
art, Belle Ferronière, Ermine, Ginevra de' Benci, High Renaissance, Lady with an Ermine, Leonardo da Vinci, Marcia B. Hall, Mona Lisa, Painting modes, Paris, Sfumato, the-last-supper
American art historian, Marcia B. Hall, has identified four painting modes, colouring, of the Italian High Renaissance. We know about chiaroscuro (Caravaggio), but there are three other modes of painting: cangiante (Michaelangelo) and unione. Unione was used by Raphael, “who exemplified it in the Stanza della Segnatura.” However, the only mode of painting we are discussing in this post is sfumato (fumée, smoke). Sfumato was Leonardo da Vinci’s painting “mode.” We will look at four portraits by Leonardo (1452-1519). His Ladies seem veiled:
- the Mona Lisa,
- the Lady with an Ermine,
- the portrait of Ginevra de’ Benci,
- Portrait of an Unknown Woman, La Belle Ferronière.
Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa (oil, panel, wood, poplar 77 x 53 cm) one of the world’s most famous and valuable paintings is a chief example of sfumato. It is the portrait of Francesco del Giocondo’s wife, Lisa del Giocondo (Lisa Gherardini). It is housed in the Louvre, in Paris. Lisa Mona’s smile is enigmatic, a significant factor in the importance of the painting.
Sfumato: Leonardo’s Painting Mode
Colour rather than lines separate the elements of the Mona Lisa, and they do so softly. For instance, shadow deepens Mona Lisa’s eyes. In other words, Leonardo did not use sharp contrast in his portrait of Lisa. The painting’s draping is also gentle. Draping can be used as a trompe-l’oeil. It deceives the eye by creating an illusion. The closer the drapes, the greater the distance or depth. Ironically, during the High Renaissance and elsewhere, realism was the product of illusions, or, quite simply, art.
The Lady with an Ermine (Wikiwand) is a much earlier small oil painting by Leonardo. Its figures are painted on a single walnut wood panel 54 × 39 cm (21 × 15 in), not on canvas. Given that small paintings can be carried, today’s artists still paint on a wood panel, instead of canvas. The Lady with an Ermine features a very young “Cecilia Gallerani, a mistress of Ludovico Sforza (Il Moro) Duke of Milan[.]” Cecilia was between 16 and 18 years of age when this portrait was executed. (See Lady with an Ermine, Wikiwand.) Leonardo da Vinci was in Milan when this portrait was produced, which supports the painting’s attribution to Leonardo da Vinci. Most importantly, the painting mode of this portrait is Leonardo’s sfumato, enfumé or blurred. Also present are the subtle remains of spolvero, powder (in the outline of the face and head), underdrawing (in the right arm, right hand, left hand, top of nose and edge of the hair), and fingerprints (the face and animal’s head) Leonardo’s Ladies seem veiled. (See Marcia B. Hall, Canonical painting modes of the Renaissance.)
Ludovico and Cecilia had a child, but Ludovico’s family, the Sforza (see The House of Sforza, Wikiwand), opposed a marriage between Cecilia, born to a lower rank, and Ludovico. Consequently, Ludovico arranged for Cecilia to marry the son of a duke who had pledged service to the Sforza family. Cecilia had been married at a tender age and had succeeded in escaping her marriage. (See Lady with an Ermine, Wikiwand.)
According to Wikiwand, the positioning of the Lady used by the artist supports the painting’s attribution to Leonardo. Also supporting its attribution to Leonardo is the contrapposto, the Lady’s positioning. Cecilia was between 16 and 18 years of age, when the painting was executed by Da Vinci. Finally, Leonardo was a painter to the Sforza court in Milan when he painted his Lady with an Ermine. (See Lady with an Ermine, Wikiwand.)
As for the Ermine, art historian Luke Syson notes that “Naturalism is not the point here; Leonardo has created a mythical beast, the composite of several animals he drew at this time” (See Lady with an Ermine, Wikiwand.) Composite (blended) beasts are called zoomorphic.
In heraldry, an Ermine symbolized purity.
Ginevra de’ Benci was a well-known Florentine aristocrat whose brother was a friend of Leonardo da Vinci. Her portrait has been viewed as a commemoration of her marriage to Luigi di Bernardo Niccolini at the age of 16. Since she stands alone, it would be a commemoration of her engagement, rather than her marriage.
The juniper bush that surrounds Ginevra’s head and fills much of the background, serves more than mere decorative purposes. In Renaissance Italy, the juniper was regarded a symbol of female virtue, while the Italian word for juniper, ginepro, also makes a play on Ginevra’s name. The reverse reads Virtvtem Forma Decorat (“Beauty adorns virtue”).
(See Ginevra de’ Benci, Wikiwand)
Ginevra was beautiful and virtuous. She was a friend of Bernardo Bembo, the Venitian ambassador to Florence, a platonic relationship. (See Platonic love, Wikiwand) Poets belonging to the Medici circle have celebrated Ginevra’s beauty, including Lorenzo de’ Medici.
The portrait of Ginevra de’ Benci is the only painting by Leonardo on public display in the Americas. It cost $5,000,000, in 1967. (Leonardo da Vinci, WikiArt.org.)
La Belle Ferronière; Portrait of an Unknown Woman
In all likelihood, Leonardo’s Belle Ferronière was the wife or daughter of a ‘ferronier,” an ironmonger. It is believed that she was a mistress to Francis I of France. Her husband infected himself with syphilis in an act of revenge. Leonardo (1452-1519) spent his final years in France at the court of Francis I.
Other modes of painting, identified by art historian Marcia B. Hall and mentioned above, will be discussed elsewhere.
RELATED ARTICLES
On Georgio Vasari’s Lives (9 October 2023)
The British Royal Collection’s Portrait of Pietro Bembo (7 April 2016)
Sources and Resources
Wikipedia
Britannica
Personal notes
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My kindest regards to everyone. 💕
© Micheline Walker
8 January 2024
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