La Belle Ferronière

Infobox Painting|

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title=La belle ferronière
artist=Attributed to Leonardo da Vinci
year=1490-1496
type=Oil on wood
height=62
width=44
city=Paris
museum=Louvre

"La belle ferronière" is the name used for two Renaissance portrait paintings. The first is thought to be of Lucrezia Crivelli and is attributed by some to Leonardo da Vinci; it is in the Louvre. It is sometimes known as "Portrait of an Unknown Woman". The other portrait, of Cecilia Gallerani, which is almost certainly by da Vinci is more often called "Lady with an Ermine".

The painting's name stems from ferronière -- a jewel held to the forehead by a chain worn by women in the Renaissance.

Bernardino de'Conti or Boltraffio may have painted the "Unknown Woman" portrait. The painting is located in the Louvre museum in Paris, France. The painting was briefly featured in the opening sequence of the 2006 film The Da Vinci Code. The painting had been sold by Sir Joseph Duveen as a Leonardo, and when this was questioned his client sued in a notorious court case, eventually settled for a relatively small amount.

External links

* [http://www.wga.hu/art/l/leonardo/02/4ermine.jpgImage of the "La belle Ferronière" or "Lady with an ermine"]
* [http://www.abcgallery.com/L/leonardo/leonardo26.html Image of the other "La belle Ferronière"]