The Lady with an Ermire is a 1485 painting by Leonardo da Vinci. It is a painting of Cecilia Gallerani, who was the mistress of Lodovico Sforza of Milan. It is one of only three female portraits he painted, and is in better condition than most of his other paintings.
Leonardo met Cecilia Gallerani in Milan in 1484 while both were living in Castello Sforzesco , the Palace of Ludovico " Il Moro" Sforza. She was the Duke's mistress; young and beautiful (she was only 15 years old), Cecilia played music and wrote poetry. When he was commissioned to paint her portrait in 1485, he represented her holding an Ermine either because her name, Galle, means Ermine in Greek or because Ludovico Sforza's emblem was "L'Ermellino".
It is the inspiration for the parody "Woman Holding Ferret" by Leonard of Quirm in the Discworld series.
The painting was acquired by Adam Jerzy Czartoryski, the son of Izabela and Adam Kazimierz in Italy in 1798 and incorporated into The Czartoryskis’ family collections in 1800.
Today exposed in the Czartoryski Museum in Kraków, Poland.
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