La belle ferronnière

La Belle Ferronnière (also: La Belle Ferronière ) is a painting of the Italian Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519 ) or his school is attributed. It is dated to 1495-1499 and is in the inventory of the Louvre in Paris.

History

The painting was first mentioned in 1642 in a catalog of the royal collection of the palace of Fontainebleau, as a work of Leonardo da Vinci, which represents " a duchess of Mantua ". In the notes and manuscripts of Leonardo da Vinci, there are no indications of the emergence of the unsigned and undated image, as is the case with many of his pictures, and what also to the usual controversy over the authenticity of professionals and participation of workshop and students has led. The portrait is in the Musée du Louvre in Paris who runs it as an authentic work of Leonardo.

Its present title received the painting apparently as a result of confusion. The same catalog also mentions a portrait of " La Belle Ferronière ", a name not exactly known mistress of the French King Francis I. It is possible that the mistress of the wife or daughter of an ironmonger (French ferronnier ) or was the wife of a lawyer called Féron or Le Ferron.

Were confused portraits probably in the early 18th century. Since then, the portrait painting by Leonardo was usually referred to as " La Belle Ferronnière ", sometimes referred to as "Portrait of an Unknown Lady ". The confusion was apparently supported by the headdress of the represented person: The model is wearing a studded with a jewel, narrow headband. Jewels of this kind were called in the 16th century after those beloved of the king, as " Ferronière ".

The person shown

In addition to the mistress of the French King further identifications of the model have been proposed: Lucrezia Crivelli (1452-1508), Cecilia Gallerani (1473-1536), both mistress of Ludovico Sforza (1452-1508), the Duke of Milan and Beatrice d' Este ( 1475-1497), who married Ludovico in 1491.