 | This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. (May 2010) |
Cecilia Gallerani | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Cecilia Gallerani as the Lady with an Ermine, painted by Leonardo da Vinci around 1489 and displayed at the Czartoryski Museum in Kraków | |
| Born | early 1473 |
| Died | 1536 (aged 62–63) |
| Nationality | Italian |
| Known for | Being the subject of Leonardo da Vinci's painting Lady with an Ermine Being the mistress of Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan |
| Spouse |
Ludovico Carminati de' Brambilla
(m. 1492; died 1514) |
| Children | 6 |
| Parents |
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Cecilia Gallerani (Italian pronunciation: [tʃeˈtʃiːlja ɡalleˈraːni]; early 1473 – 1536) was the favourite and most celebrated of the many mistresses of Ludovico Sforza, known as Lodovico il Moro, Duke of Milan. She is best known as the subject of Leonardo da Vinci's painting Lady with an Ermine (c. 1489). While posing for the painting, she invited Leonardo, who at the time was working as court artist for Sforza, to meetings at which Milanese intellectuals discussed philosophy and other subjects. Gallerani herself presided over these discussions.