Cecilia Gallerani

Cecilia Gallerani (tʃeˈtʃiːlja ɡalleˈraːni; early 1473 – 1536) was the favourite and most celebrated of the many mistresses of Ludovico Sforza, known as Lodovico il Moro, Duke of Milan. She is best known as the subject of Leonardo da Vinci's painting The Lady with an Ermine (circa 1489). While posing for the painting, she invited Leonardo, who at the time was working as court artist for Sforza, to meetings at which Milanese intellectuals discussed philosophy and other subjects. Cecilia herself presided over these discussions. Cecilia was born in early 1473 into a large family from Siena. Her father's name was Fazio Gallerani. He was not a member of the nobility, but he occupied several important posts at the Milanese court, including the position of ambassador to Republic of Florence and Duchy of Lucca. Her mother was Margherita Busti, the daughter of a noted doctor of law. She was educated alongside her six brothers in Latin and literature. In 1483 at the age of ten, Cecilia was betrothed to Stefano Visconti, but the betrothal was broken off in 1487 for unknown reasons. In May 1489, she left home for the Monastero Nuovo, and it was possibly there where she met Ludovico. Gallerani was a lifelong scholar with a musical gift and love of poetry, which she composed in Latin and Italian. She became a mistress of the Duke of Milan, Ludovico Sforza "il Moro" when she was 16 or 18 and enjoyed entertaining the intellectual elite out of her apartments in his Milanese castle and seat of the ducal court at the Porta Giovia. It is supposed that she was Sforza's preferred partner but too low in social rank to be politically acceptable match; after their son Cesare was born May 3, 1491, Sforza continued to provide for the family with palatial homes, an arranged marriage for Gallerani with an Italian count, and senior church appointments for Cesare in Milan. Gallerani and son continued to live in Castello Sforza for up to a year, around when the duke's long-negotiated marriage to a daughter of the Duke of Ferrara (and niece of the Queen of Hungary) could celebrated.

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Concepts associés (2)

La Dame à l'hermine

La Dame à l’hermine est une peinture à l'huile sur panneau de bois de réalisée par Léonard de Vinci à Milan, en 1488. Longtemps propriété de la famille Czartoryski, il appartient depuis fin 2016 à l'État polonais. En 2014 une technique avancée permet d'établir que le tableau a été repeint à deux reprises par son auteur, à quoi sont venues s'ajouter d'autres modifications mineures. En dépit des dommages subis au cours des siècles, il demeure dans un état de conservation bien meilleur que plusieurs autres peintures de Léonard de Vinci.

Cecilia Gallerani

Cecilia Gallerani (1473 - 1536) fut l'une des maîtresses de Ludovic Sforza, duc de Milan et le modèle de La Dame à l'hermine de Léonard de Vinci. Elle est le sujet du tableau La Dame à l'hermine (vers 1489) attribué à Léonard de Vinci. Par ailleurs, les historiens de l'art considèrent volontiers qu'elle a servi de modèle au dessin Tête de femme qui constitue une étude préparatoire du même artiste à son tableau de La Vierge aux rochers, ce que réfute néanmoins l'historienne de l'art Paola Salvi.