The "Lady with an Ermine" or Cecilia Gallerani and "La Gioconda", or Lisa Gherardini, the most famous women in the history of art
The "Lady with an Ermine ”And the “ Mona Lisa ” , the latter more famous as "La Gioconda", are two of the most famous, mysterious and discussed female portraits of Leonardo da Vinci ; the ambiguous looks, the peculiarity of the poses and some suggestions born and consolidated over the centuries, have meant that the faces of these women became the most admired, studied and even desecrated in the history of art of all times.
Doubts and perplexities about the portraits therefore remain to this day, but at least the identity of the two young Renaissance ladies should be certain. in question:let's see who the most famous “Leonardo's women” were and what they did.
Cecilia Gallerani , (https://www.pilloledistoria.it/8136/storia-moderna/la-collana-di-cecilia-gallerani-leonardesca-dama-con-lermellino and https://www.pilloledistoria.it/8127/storia- modern / 400-the-beautiful-hairstyle-of-the-lady-with-lermine) immortalized holding a tender and white ermine, she was the favorite of Ludovico il Moro , from which she had the son Cesare.
Leonardo painted the portrait of the more or less fifteen-year-old girl in Milan around 1479; the animal, emblem of docility and kindness, acquires a symbolic value in the work, ending up representing the qualities recognized to women.
Gallerani, cultured, lover of music and letters, had a great influence on the culture of the time.
Removed from the court without many compliments following the marriage of Ludovico il Moro, in 1492 Cecilia married the count Ludovico Carminati called “il Bergamino ”Transforming the marital home into a meeting place for artists, poets and writers.Gallerani died in 1536 she at the age of 63.
And what about the “Gioconda” instead , almost certainly the best known female face in the world?
Lisa Gherardini , or Lisa del Giocondo or Mona Lisa , belonging to a noble Florentine family, was born in 1479 and she died in 1542 (in reality there is no absolute certainty on the latter date, since according to some scholars Lisa lived until the age of 71 or 72).
The girl married the wealthy Francesco del Giocondo , with whom she had five children but of whom she also raised the first, Bartholomew, born from the man's first marriage.
As is known, the painting is located in the Parisian museum of the Louvre (Photo gives:passipermilano.com).