Artist: Leonardo Da Vinci (Italy, 1452 – France, 1519)
Date: c. 1489-1490
Dimensions: 40.3 cm wide x 54.8 cm high
Medium: oil on walnut wood
Location: Czartoryski Museum

It is said that the woman in the portrait is Cecilia Gallerani, she was the mistress of Lodovico Sforza, Duke of Milan this was probably painted at the time when she was a mistress, the Duke was Leonardo’s main patron for some time. People thought the Ermine was just included for decorative reasons but later was discovered that the ermine could’ve been a representation of Lodovico since he was referred to as Ermellino Bianco (white ermine).
The portrait was heavily over-painted the background was darkened, her dress below the Ermine was retouched, a transparent veil being worn was retouched to match the color of her hair as a result, this gave the appearance that her hair wrapped around under her chin, and dark shadows were also included in between Cecilias fingers. This painting fell into the hands of Polish Prince Adam Czartoryski, he gifted the painting to his mother who was a big collector of art and a founder of the Czartoryski museum. Adams mother was not a big fan of the portrait and was the one who darkened the background. If we look closely at her hands we can see that it’s a bit too large for her body, this may be because of Leonardo’s tendency to paint heads and bodies separately, Leonardo was said to have a sketchbook full of hands drawn in numerous poses so it could’ve been possible that he used one of those hand sketches on this portrait.