Leonardo Painted Three Ermine Portraits
The BBC tells us: ‘A French scientist has revealed a major new discovery about one of Leonardo da Vinci‘s most famous paintings, shedding new light on his techniques. Engineer Pascal Cotte has spent three years using reflective light technology to analyse “The Lady with an Ermine.” Until now, it was thought the 500-year-old painting had always included the ceremonial animal. Mr Cotte has shown the artist painted one portrait without the ermine and two with different versions of the fur. Leonardo experts have described the new findings as “thrilling” and said the discovery raises new questions about the painting’s history. “The Lady with an Ermine” is a portrait of Cecilia Gallerani, a young woman in the Milanese court who was mistress to Ludovico Sforza, the Duke of Milan.’
