Leonardo’s Women
Apologies once more dear readers! I have failed to add any new posts now for almost two-months, but the adjustment to becoming a full-time student has not been easy. Not that I am complaining, I love being at university. The experience is proving to be life enhancing, but it certainly presents some challenges, too, so please forgive me.
I had no lectures today, so I seized the opportunity to go to see the Leonardo da Vinci—Painter at the Court of Milan exhibition at the National Gallery. I’m glad I did, it was another life enhancing experience.
The exhibition, as the name implies, is a collection of da Vinci paintings and drawings from his period at the court of Milan. Many of the works have never seen together before, and it is the most complete display of surviving da Vinci art that has ever been held. There are several masterpieces, the two versions of The Virgin of the Rocks, Christ as Salvator Mundi, Saint Jerome, The Madonna Litta, and several others. However, the stars of the show are undoubtedly two of the most beautiful works of art that I have ever set eyes upon. They are The Belle Ferronière, a painting of Beatrice d’Este, the wife of Ludovico Sforza, the Duke of Milan, and The Lady with an Ermine, which is a painting of Cecilia Gallerani, his teenage mistress. The two girls are shown below:
Beatrice d’Este
Cecilia Gallerani
They are displayed together in one room along with several other paintings of women from Leonardo’s school. They are, all of them, wonderful, but serve only to illuminate the brilliance of the paintings of Beatrice, and even more so Cecilia. Much thought has gone into how they are hung, Cecilia in pride of place in the centre of the end wall of the room, with Beatrice adjacent to her on the left side-wall. The effect of this imaginitive positioning is stunning. Viewed from the diagonally opposite corner of the room, it almost seems that Beatrice is looking, apprehensively, over her shoulder at her young rival.
Beatrice has a slightly morose expression, and though she seems to hold no animosity toward Cecilia, looks as though she feels threatened nevertheless. The alabaster skinned Cecilia, on the other hand, wears an expression of absolute confidence, certain that she is the one closest to Ludovico’s affections. This is all fantasy of course, as the paintings were apparently painted years apart. However, the scene does give a fanciful glimpse into the feminine intrigues at Ludovico’s court.
As I wandered through the six rooms of the exhibition, I was continuously drawn back to the ‘girl’s room’, as were many other visitors. The two paintings, seen in the ‘flesh’ are astoundingly beautiful, and alone could support a major exhibition; let alone being with all the other wonderful paintings. It is the first time in years that I have ever gazed upon any work of Leonardo’s, and, after viewing this exhibition I understand now why he is, beyond all doubt, the greatest of all artists.