Lady with an Ermine

Lady with an Ermine is Leonardo da Vinci’s portrait of Cecilia Gallerani, the young mistress of Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan. The turning pose, the elegant play of the sitter’s hands with the ermine, and Leonardo’s masterful sfumato modelling make it one of the finest portraits of the High Renaissance — and, alongside the Mona Lisa, one of only a handful of surviving female portraits by the artist.