Leonardo da VINCI (1452 -1519), Lady with an Ermine

color heliogravure, high weight velin paper, , 31 x 23 cm (plate imprint),framed in passe - partout, 47 x 37 cm, numbered in pencil 4/75, signed from plate with subcomposition "Renoir", publisher's dry stamp l. d. : letter K surrounded by the words "EDITION LIMITEDCERTIFIED ARTS USA EUROPE SINCE 1998". Original publisher's certificate.
Immortalized in the portrait is Cecilia Gallerani, mistress of Duke Louis Sforza. Art historian
Antonina Vallentin, comparing Cecilia's smile with that of Lisa Gherardini in the Mona Lisa painting
concluded that Cecilia is the younger sister of Lisa, who lost her childhood too early.The grapevine
contains numerous associations. According to tradition, ermine symbolizes purity and innocence. This animal
is also an allusion to Louis Sforza, who held the title of ermine (L'Ermellino) since 1488.
The ermine in the painting has a watchful eye and its front paw is strongly muscled. The ermine
was also located in the emblem of Louis Sforza.
Heliogravure, which became widespread in the 19th century, was later superseded by rotogravure, as the
heliogravure is an expensive and very time-consuming method. Today it is sometimes used in graphic
art. Plates obtained by heliogravure technique can be supplemented by other methods of techniques of
intaglio printing. Occasionally, this technique is also used in the reproduction of works of art, when it is necessary to
create a small number of copies of very high quality.