Vladimir Nabokov

NABOKV-L post 0005557, Wed, 18 Oct 2000 13:24:06 -0700

Subject
Grillo/Obieto and ferret
Date
Body
lines) ------------------
Phil Iannarelli writes:

> I think it was Leonardo da Vinci who painted a portrait of a woman
holding
>a ferret, but don't know if this applies here.

And our kindly editor queries:

>Does anyone know about the painting Phil alludes to?

Yes, I know the painting - the English is usually "Lady with an ermine."
It's a marvelous portrait, even by da Vinci's standard. Although young and
at first glance innocent, the woman has a subtle sneer on her face that
suggests cruelty. She and the ermine are both gazing in the same
direction, with similar expressions. The longer one looks at the painting,
the less one wants to meet the subject.

I can't tie this to the earlier discussion, but I'm sure the painting is
available on the Web for those who want to have a look.

john hamilton


Leonardo da Vinci: Lady with an Ermine
http://www.artchive.com/artchive/L/leonardo/ermine.jpg.html
LEONARDO da Vinci Lady with an Ermine 1483-1490 Oil on wood 53.4 x 39.3 cm
(21 x 15 1/2 in.) Czartoryski Museum, Cracow Use the Image Viewer to resize
this image to fit your screen, display as a thumbnail, zoom in up to 200%,
or even change the back