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Looking at Leonardo's 'Girl with an Ermine'

David Moss • Jul 15, 2019

Timothy McCall (Villanova University) will give a talk, Leonardo da Vinci’s portrait of a Milanese courtesan: new light on Cecilia Gallerani, the Girl with an Ermine , on Monday 29 July 2019 , 6.15pm at the Forum Theatre, level 1 – Arts West, The University of Melbourne(registration here ). He focuses our attention anew on Leonardo da Vinci’s famous Girl with an Ermine (1489-1490), a depiction of Cecilia Gallerani, mistress of the duke of Milan, Ludovico Sforza, examining the artistic representation of Cecilia both within conventions surrounding Renaissance mistresses at court and in relation to visual imagery celebrating her and her lord Ludovico’s identities. New evidence from an overlooked letter and technical analysis of the painting reveals that the relationship between the two began earlier than scholars have presumed (Cecilia was barely a teenager) and provides a fresh perspective on her connection with Leonardo da Vinci and her advertisement of that connection throughout her life.  Timothy McCall is Associate Professor of Art History, and director of the Art History Program, at Villanova University. His research centers on Italian Renaissance court art and society, and on visual intersections of power and gender (particularly masculinity) more broadly, in addition to histories of fashion and material culture.

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