La Belle Ferronière
Encyclopedia
La belle ferronnière is a name often applied to a portrait of a woman in the Musée du Louvre, traditionally attributed to Leonardo da Vinci
. It is also simply known as Portrait of an Unknown Woman. The Louvre currently ascribes it to the school of Leonardo da Vinci in Milan. The painting's title, applied as early as the seventeenth century, identifying the sitter as the wife or daughter of an ironmonger (a ferronnier), was said to be discreetly alluding to a reputed mistress of Francis I of France
, married to a certain Le Ferron; the tale is a Romantic legend
of revenge, in which the aggrieved husband intentionally infected himself with syphilis
, which he passed to the king through infecting his wife.
Leonardo's Lady with an Ermine
, has also been known by this name. This is believed to be a portrait of Cecilia Gallerani
--one of the mistresses of Lodovico 'il Moro' Sforza, Duke of Milan. The narrative and the title were applied to Lady with an Ermine when it was in Princess Czartoryski's collection, and became confused with this portrait by the presence in this image also, of a jewel worn on a delicate chain across the forehead.
attributed this Leonardesque portrait to Bernardino de' Conti
. Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio
was suggested by Herbert Cook
, who retracted his opinion, seeing Leonardo's own hand, in 1904.
as the original, but was identified as a copy, on the basis of a photograph, by Sir Joseph Duveen
, who permitted his remarks to be published in the New York World in 1920; the owner, Mrs Andrée Lardoux Hahn, sued for defamation of property in a notorious court case, which involved many of the major connoisseurs of the day, inspecting the two paintings side by side at the Louvre; the case was eventually heard in New York before a jury selected for not knowing anything of Leonardo or Morellian connoisseurship
, and settled for $60,000 plus court expenses, which were considerable. The owner's account, Harry Hahn's The Rape of La Belle (1946) is a classic of populist conspiracy theory
applied to the art world
. Interestingly, after decades in an Omaha vault, the Hahn La Belle was sold at auction by Sotheby's on January 28, 2010 as "by a follower of Leonardo, probably before 1750"; it brought 1.5 million dollars, a price three times higher than Sotheby's pre-sale estimate. The buyer was an unidentified American collector.
A nineteenth-century copy of La Belle Ferronnière is conserved in the Musée des beaux-arts, Chambéry
. The Louvre painting is identified in pre-Revolutionary inventories of the French royal collection.
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was an Italian Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer whose genius, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomized the Renaissance...
. It is also simply known as Portrait of an Unknown Woman. The Louvre currently ascribes it to the school of Leonardo da Vinci in Milan. The painting's title, applied as early as the seventeenth century, identifying the sitter as the wife or daughter of an ironmonger (a ferronnier), was said to be discreetly alluding to a reputed mistress of Francis I of France
Francis I of France
Francis I was King of France from 1515 until his death. During his reign, huge cultural changes took place in France and he has been called France's original Renaissance monarch...
, married to a certain Le Ferron; the tale is a Romantic legend
Legend
A legend is a narrative of human actions that are perceived both by teller and listeners to take place within human history and to possess certain qualities that give the tale verisimilitude...
of revenge, in which the aggrieved husband intentionally infected himself with syphilis
Syphilis
Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the spirochete bacterium Treponema pallidum subspecies pallidum. The primary route of transmission is through sexual contact; however, it may also be transmitted from mother to fetus during pregnancy or at birth, resulting in congenital syphilis...
, which he passed to the king through infecting his wife.
Leonardo's Lady with an Ermine
Lady with an Ermine
Lady with an Ermine is a painting by Leonardo da Vinci, from around 1489–1490. The subject of the portrait is identified as Cecilia Gallerani, and was probably painted at a time when she was the mistress of Lodovico Sforza, Duke of Milan, and Leonardo was in the service of the Duke.The painting is...
, has also been known by this name. This is believed to be a portrait of Cecilia Gallerani
Cecilia Gallerani
Cecilia Gallerani , born in Siena, Italy, 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...
--one of the mistresses of Lodovico 'il Moro' Sforza, Duke of Milan. The narrative and the title were applied to Lady with an Ermine when it was in Princess Czartoryski's collection, and became confused with this portrait by the presence in this image also, of a jewel worn on a delicate chain across the forehead.
Attribution
Bernard BerensonBernard Berenson
Bernard Berenson was an American art historian specializing in the Renaissance. He was a major figure in pioneering art attribution and therefore establishing the market for paintings by the "Old Masters".-Personal life:...
attributed this Leonardesque portrait to Bernardino de' Conti
Bernardino de' Conti
Bernardino de' Conti, an Italian painter, is said to have been born at Pavia in the latter part of the 15th century. He died after 1522. He was a follower of Zenale, but little is known of his life or works. The following paintings, however, are preserved:...
. Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio
Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio
Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio was an Italian painter of the High Renaissance from Lombardy, who worked in the studio of Leonardo da Vinci. Boltraffio and Bernardino Luini are the strongest artistic personalities to emerge from Leonardo's studio...
was suggested by Herbert Cook
Sir Herbert Cook, 3rd Baronet
Sir Herbert Frederick Cook, 3rd Baronet of Richmond was an English art patron and art historian.-Life:Only son of Sir Frederick Cook, he was educated at Harrow School and Balliol College, Oxford and called to the Bar by the Inner Temple in 1895...
, who retracted his opinion, seeing Leonardo's own hand, in 1904.
Copies
A later version of the painting, on canvas, had been offered to the Kansas City Art InstituteKansas City Art Institute
The Kansas City Art Institute is a private, independent, four-year college of fine arts and design founded in 1885 in Kansas City, Missouri....
as the original, but was identified as a copy, on the basis of a photograph, by Sir Joseph Duveen
Joseph Duveen, 1st Baron Duveen of Millbank
Joseph Duveen, 1st Baron Duveen , known as Sir Joseph Duveen, Bt, between 1927 and 1933, was a British art dealer, considered one of the most influential art dealers of all time.-Life and career:...
, who permitted his remarks to be published in the New York World in 1920; the owner, Mrs Andrée Lardoux Hahn, sued for defamation of property in a notorious court case, which involved many of the major connoisseurs of the day, inspecting the two paintings side by side at the Louvre; the case was eventually heard in New York before a jury selected for not knowing anything of Leonardo or Morellian connoisseurship
Giovanni Morelli
Giovanni Morelli was an Italian art critic and political figure. As an art historian, he developed the "Morellian" technique of scholarship, identifying the characteristic "hands" of painters through scrutiny of diagnostic minor details that revealed artists' scarcely conscious shorthand and...
, and settled for $60,000 plus court expenses, which were considerable. The owner's account, Harry Hahn's The Rape of La Belle (1946) is a classic of populist conspiracy theory
Conspiracy theory
A conspiracy theory explains an event as being the result of an alleged plot by a covert group or organization or, more broadly, the idea that important political, social or economic events are the products of secret plots that are largely unknown to the general public.-Usage:The term "conspiracy...
applied to the art world
Art world
The art world is composed of all the people involved in the production, commission, preservation, promotion, criticism, and sale of art. Howard S. Becker describes it as "the network of people whose cooperative activity, organized via their joint knowledge of conventional means of doing things,...
. Interestingly, after decades in an Omaha vault, the Hahn La Belle was sold at auction by Sotheby's on January 28, 2010 as "by a follower of Leonardo, probably before 1750"; it brought 1.5 million dollars, a price three times higher than Sotheby's pre-sale estimate. The buyer was an unidentified American collector.
A nineteenth-century copy of La Belle Ferronnière is conserved in the Musée des beaux-arts, Chambéry
Chambéry
Chambéry is a city in the department of Savoie, located in the Rhône-Alpes region in southeastern France.It is the capital of the department and has been the historical capital of the Savoy region since the 13th century, when Amadeus V of Savoy made the city his seat of power.-Geography:Chambéry...
. The Louvre painting is identified in pre-Revolutionary inventories of the French royal collection.