FORMAL ANALYSIS ON THE LADY WITH AN ERMINE

Marc Biag
Introduction to Western Art (VISA 1Q99): Colour, Tone, and Composition
Professor Steer

Analysis word count: 452 words

September 26, 2021
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Leonardo Da Vinci conveys his precise painterly skills through the painting that articulate the

anatomic figure of the woman and ermine but also the feeling of the painting through subtle visual cues

of the relationship between the woman and the ermine. He does this through the colours, the tones,

and the general composition of the painting. In Leonardo da Vinci’s Lady with an Ermine, the

relationship of the woman and the ermine is closely intimate as the woman shows nurturing traits over

the ermine. Da Vinci expresses this through the ermine’s mimicry of the woman’s gaze, mirroring her in

a way that shows his obedience alluding to their close maternalistic bond. Da Vinci’s executes this

intimacy not only through the ermine’s composure of submissiveness but the use of light.

As the light spills from the right illuminating the woman and the ermine. It creates a gradual

shift from dark to light that showcases the pictorial space and mellow calmness of the painting’s

atmosphere. As light illuminates the woman, it emphasises the subtle tonal changes around the

contours of her eyes, and mouth. this highlights a motherly warmth in her face, rather than the sleek

and smooth fabric of the dress. Also, as the light illuminates the blue of the dress on the right, there is a

shadow that casts over the red on the left dulling the colours in accordance with the reflective light

portrayed in the rest of the painting. With that in mind, colour and texture are a contributing factor to

tone.

The dulled colours contrast the ermine’s light fur, the thin lines that are painted shows the

meticulous efforts of da Vinci’s recreation of an ermine’s soft fur in comparison to the smooth skin of

the woman. In relation the dress presents with comparable efforts of the meticulously painted fur,

showcasing a methodological approach of patterning along the collar, and elbow pieces that help

discern the forms of the woman’s arm. While most of the intimacy of the bond is captured through the

colours, the composition helps indicate the bond.

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The woman is placed right in the foreground, present as the primary subject of the painting as

she fills over half of the frame, showing her importance with the ermine. The background is very

minimal with just the light source projecting to the right of the painting as mentioned puts more

emphasis to the women and ermine. This also showcases the embellishments of the woman’s dress and

her holding the ermine, conveying them in a grandiose spotlight. The way the ermine is posed in her

arm, sloping over the woman’s forearm, implies a grandiose sense of comfortability and trust. its shape

of its body parallels with her left arm. The ermine does not extend over the woman’s space as it’s

directly underneath, showing the woman’s fostering nature.

Through The Lady with an Ermine, Leonardo Da Vinci communicates the not only the beauty of

the woman and the ermine, but the overall feeling between them. He does this through the subtlety of

the painting's colours, tones, and overall composition.

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i
Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519). c. 1490. Lady with an Ermine. painting. Place: Czartorysky Museum,
Cracow, Poland. https://library-artstor-org.proxy.library.brocku.ca/asset/LESSING_ART_10310752347.
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Bibliography

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519). c. 1490. Lady with an Ermine. painting. Place: Czartorysky Museum, Cracow,
Poland. https://library-artstor-org.proxy.library.brocku.ca/asset/LESSING_ART_10310752347.