DOI issue:
Artykuły / Articles
DOI article:Czop, Janusz; Frączek, Piotr; Hoyo-Meléndez, Julio M. del; Matosz, Marta: Leonardo da Vinci Lady with an Ermine - the latest research into the artist's painting technique and the state of preservation of the painting
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.47327#0239
Leonardo da Vinci Lady with an Ermine - the latest research into the artist's painting technigue...
237
is the part of Bulls hypothesis about a thin layer of paint lying on the letters and
black paint in the cleavage. It might be the second (morę transparent than the first
one) overpainting of the background, which might have been done “after breaking
off the corner, because a layer of paint poured into the cleavage created after gluing
the panel; on the letters there is also a thin glaze of black paint forming the second
layer of overpainting”12 or the layer was formed as a result of dissolution of black paint
during the next cleaning of the painting (as further described in part: Background).
In 2007, Pascal Cotte from Lumiere Technology carried out multi-spectral imagin-
ing of the painting. The results of his examination were broadly interpreted and pre-
sented in a book published in 2014.13 There he presented new hypotheses referring to
the artists original idea and appearance of the painting. One of the most important is
an assumption that originally the painting was the portrait of Cecilia Gallerani without
the ermine. Its figurę appeared in the next version, which was once again overpainted to
achieve the finał form. A detailed analysis of the hypotheses presented in the study goes
beyond the scope of this publication. In the conclusion we are going to refer shortly to
the most important of them in the light of the research described in this publication.
Examination of the painting carried out in 201214
Support - walnut panel
Dimensions
Walnut panel 4 to 5 mm thick has a shape close to vertical rectangle whose sides are
accordingly: top - 404.5 mm, bottom - 406 mm, left - 548.5 mm and right - 550 mm.
The weight of complete painting - 664.9 g.
Photographs taken in visible light and using specialized imaging techniques
Photographs of the reverse reveal elear traces which allow a shape and dimensions
of the cradle and ways of removing it to be recognized. The photograph taken in
reflected light shows a difference between the glossy surface of smooth darkened
wood and mat and rough part which creates a shape suggesting presence of the cra-
dle with a crosspiece. Raking light brings out elear traces of tooling on the surface of
12 M. Chmielewska, A. Grochowska-Angelus, K. Novljaković, O jedynym w Polsce obrazie Leonarda
da Vinci - uwagi konserwatorów, “Rozprawy Muzeum Narodowego Krakowie. Seria Nowa” 2011, vol. 4,
pp. 199-227.
13 P. Cotte, Lumiere on The Lady with an Ermine by Leonardo da Vinci. Unprecedented discoveries,
Saint-Fargeau-Ponthierry 2014.
14 Information about the measurement methods and eąuipment used is included in the Technical
Appendix to this publication available on the website of Laboratory of Analysis and Nondestructive Inves-
tigation of Heritage Objects at the National Museum in Kraków, www.mnk.pl/lanboz.
237
is the part of Bulls hypothesis about a thin layer of paint lying on the letters and
black paint in the cleavage. It might be the second (morę transparent than the first
one) overpainting of the background, which might have been done “after breaking
off the corner, because a layer of paint poured into the cleavage created after gluing
the panel; on the letters there is also a thin glaze of black paint forming the second
layer of overpainting”12 or the layer was formed as a result of dissolution of black paint
during the next cleaning of the painting (as further described in part: Background).
In 2007, Pascal Cotte from Lumiere Technology carried out multi-spectral imagin-
ing of the painting. The results of his examination were broadly interpreted and pre-
sented in a book published in 2014.13 There he presented new hypotheses referring to
the artists original idea and appearance of the painting. One of the most important is
an assumption that originally the painting was the portrait of Cecilia Gallerani without
the ermine. Its figurę appeared in the next version, which was once again overpainted to
achieve the finał form. A detailed analysis of the hypotheses presented in the study goes
beyond the scope of this publication. In the conclusion we are going to refer shortly to
the most important of them in the light of the research described in this publication.
Examination of the painting carried out in 201214
Support - walnut panel
Dimensions
Walnut panel 4 to 5 mm thick has a shape close to vertical rectangle whose sides are
accordingly: top - 404.5 mm, bottom - 406 mm, left - 548.5 mm and right - 550 mm.
The weight of complete painting - 664.9 g.
Photographs taken in visible light and using specialized imaging techniques
Photographs of the reverse reveal elear traces which allow a shape and dimensions
of the cradle and ways of removing it to be recognized. The photograph taken in
reflected light shows a difference between the glossy surface of smooth darkened
wood and mat and rough part which creates a shape suggesting presence of the cra-
dle with a crosspiece. Raking light brings out elear traces of tooling on the surface of
12 M. Chmielewska, A. Grochowska-Angelus, K. Novljaković, O jedynym w Polsce obrazie Leonarda
da Vinci - uwagi konserwatorów, “Rozprawy Muzeum Narodowego Krakowie. Seria Nowa” 2011, vol. 4,
pp. 199-227.
13 P. Cotte, Lumiere on The Lady with an Ermine by Leonardo da Vinci. Unprecedented discoveries,
Saint-Fargeau-Ponthierry 2014.
14 Information about the measurement methods and eąuipment used is included in the Technical
Appendix to this publication available on the website of Laboratory of Analysis and Nondestructive Inves-
tigation of Heritage Objects at the National Museum in Kraków, www.mnk.pl/lanboz.