Lady with an Ermine
The most famous weasel in Renaissance art is undoubtedly Leonardo da Vinci’s portrait of Lady with an Ermine. Why do I call this little white creature a weasel when the title of the painting clearly calls him an ermine?
Well …weasel, ermine, ferret, marten, mink, sable, they all belong to the weasel family. So here, I’m calling this guy (and all his cousins) weasels.
Weasels and Reproduction
In the late 15th century when Lady with an Ermine was painted, weasels had a lot of symbolism attached to them – and they were especially associated with having babies. They could help a woman get pregnant, protect her unborn child, and insure a smooth delivery. They were quite the multipurpose creatures for procreation.
At the time of the da Vinci portrait, we know that his young subject, Cecilia Gallerani was pregnant, so the weasel was probably providing protection for her baby. But in this particular case, this weasel might have had even more significance.
A Significant Symbol
Some think the weasel in da Vinci’s painting was a play on words with Cecilia’s last name. Her surname was Gallerani and the Greek word for the animal is ‘gallay’, and da Vinci had been known to make such connections in his paintings before.
Additionally, it could have been a reference to her lover who commissioned the painting. He was Ludovico Sforza, and his nickname was ‘l’Ermellino’ or little ermine because of being awarded the Order of the Ermine by the King of Naples. So the little white weasel in the da Vinci painting was full of symbolism. (That must be why he looks so stout.)
Ladies with Weasels Are all the Fashion
Lady with the Ermine might have been the earliest painting of a lady with a weasel, but it certainly wasn’t the last. In the 1500s weasels became a must-have accessory for any fashionable female who was pregnant or hoping to be.
Purity and Weasels
Not only were weasels fertility-inducing fashion accessories, but in the winter, when their coats turned white, they represented purity. Myth said that a white weasel would rather face death than to get its lovely snow-white coat dirty. So the white weasel fur came to represent chastity, virtue, and nobility. This made them popular subjects for wedding portraits, representing the bride’s purity and the hope of many children.
Unfortunately for the weasels, ladies who wanted to have babies or show off their purity weren’t really into carrying around or wearing live weasels. So the poor little critters had to give their lives for fashion.
Zibellini
Ladies began to be painted holding the pelt of a weasel (with head and feet attached to give it a realistic look). These were called zibellini (plural) or zibellino (singular). At first, these were left in a natural state, but later, they were lavishly decorated. The heads (and sometimes the feet) would be covered in gold and encrusted with gems.
They could get very ornate, like the one that was listed in Henry VIII’s inventory of 1547: It was described as having a gold head containing a clock, a gold collar set with four diamonds and four rubies, two pearls hanging at the ears, and two rubies in the eyes. Its feet were also gold, and the claws were sapphires.
A Luxury Fur
These luxurious, symbolic furs might be worn draped over the shoulder, carried in the hand, or worn on a belt. Sometimes they were attached by a chain around the zibellino’s neck or to its mouth. Just like today, furs were considered a luxury item and coveted by the wealthy to show their status and power.
Attractor of Fleas
One theory, proposed in the 19th century, described the zibellini as ‘flea pelts, and it speculated that the user carried the weasel pelt so the fleas would be attracted to it and not the person. However, there does not appear to be any evidence of this in earlier records, so we are sticking with the idea of the fertility/purity symbolism.
Why Were Weasels Associated with Fertility?
It might seem odd to associate weasels with fertility, but it has to do with an ancient belief that weasels conceived and gave birth in a strange, almost supernatural way. It was thought that they conceived through their ears… and gave birth through their mouths – or sometimes, the other way around. Either way, it’s pretty weird!
Hercules and a Weasel
The birth of Hercules is also associated with a weasel. Zeus had gotten a human woman pregnant, and when his wife found out, she was not amused. When the mortal woman went into labor, Zeus’ wife sent her daughter (the goddess of birth) to prevent the child being born.
However, the midwife, Galinthias, came to the rescue. She tricked the goddess and Hercules was born. The midwife paid the price though, as she was turned into a weasel and had to give birth through her mouth (or ear).
Who knew there were so many weasels in Renaissance portraiture?
A Book You Might Like:
The Greatest Nobodies of History: Minor Characters from Major Moments by Adrian Bliss
This is a funny book and it has a chapter written from the perspective of the “ferret” in the da Vinci painting discussed here. I loved it.
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