"The Lady with an Ermine"

 The sitter for Da Vinci's famous portrait "The Lady with an Ermine" was Cecilia Gallerani.
(Ermine refers to the white winter coat of the stoat.)

 Cecilia Gallerani was the mistress of Ludovico Sforza (The Duke of Milan) for 10 years. She was an accomplished and well educated individual, a patron of the Arts, and a skilled writer and poet.

The Lady with an Ermine 1485.
Oil on wood panel, 21x15 inches 54x39 cm.
Czartoryski Museum, Krakow. (s)

 In this portrait Leonardo has posed the sitter looking over her shoulder listening to an unseen speaker. This adds dynamism and movement to the painting and is a typical Leonardo trait.
 The Ermine held by Cecilia seems to arch its back at her touch further emphasising the sense of movement within the picture.

 Leonardo uses the device of the sitter emerging from a dark background illuminating the face, hand, and Ermine in stark contrast to the gloomy surroundings. These devices are not a product of trail and error, Leonardo had studied the effects of light falling on objects and applied this knowledge to his paintings.

Personal Opinion:-

 This is a particular favourite of mine.... From the expressive glance of the sitter, you can almost hear her thinking,
"what's going on over there? "
The 'struggling stoat' also appears interested in whatever is happening out of the viewers sight and, I often wonder about Cecilia's fingers!!
Are they really so thin?
Just elongated skin and bone. With an artist as talented as Leonardo da Vinci we have to assume that he painted them true to life.... So it would seem that Cecilia had rather odd fingers.

 Leonardo also painted a portrait of Ludovico's second mistress, Lucrezia Crivelli, La Belle Ferroniere. 

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Leonardo Da Vinci