Costume style and Leonardo’s knots in the "Lady with an ermine"

ZDZISLAW ZYGULSKI, JR.

Costume Style and Leonardo's Knots in the Lady with an Ermine

Costume Style

To u n d e r s t a n d the c o s t u m e w o r n by the sitter for L e o n a r d o ' s Lady with an Ermine, it is necessary to recall the evolution of w o m e n s ' fashions in Q u a t t r o c e n t o Italy.

R e g i o n a l differences reflected the political disintegration of the Italian n a t i o n into several i n d e p e n d e n t states, most of which were simply city-states. Nevertheless, until the m i d d l e of the fifteenth century, in s o m e places even longer, the i n t e r n a t i o n a l court fashion o r i g i n a t i n g in F r a n c e a n d F l a n d e r s p r e d o m i n a t e d in Italy: high, p a d­

ded, h e a r t ­ a n d h o r n ­ s h a p e d headdresses or t u r b a n s ; high, u n c o v e r e d , a n d convex foreheads; small V­shaped decolletages; tight­fitting bodices; a n d long, trailing skirts. T h e style of the period can best be seen in the paint­

ings a n d d r a w i n g s of A n t o n i o Pisanello, as well as in the figurative d e c o r a t i o n s on cassoni.

T h e style of the Italian E a r l y R e n a i s s a n c e was estab­

lished in the second half of the fifteenth century, with its chief c e n t e r in Florence. It is well d o c u m e n t e d in profile p o r t r a i t s by Alesso Baldovinetti, Paolo Uccello, A n t o n i o

Pollaiuolo, S a n d r o Botticelli, a n d P i e r o della Francesca.

A particularly good e x a m p l e is offered in the fresco por­

trait of G i o v a n n a degli Albizzi by D o m e n i c o G h i r l a n d a i o in the F l o r e n t i n e c h u r c h of S a n t a M a r i a Novella.

In such portraits, f o r e h e a d s r e m a i n uncovered, b u t the high G o t h i c headdresses have b e e n replaced by trans­

p a r e n t veils a n d nets a n d the h a i r is a r r a n g e d in e l a b o r a t e plaits, braids, a n d knots, partly flowing a n d richly or­

n a m e n t e d with ribbons, fillets, a n d pearls a n d o t h e r jewelry. Blond h a i r prevails, b e i n g praised above all.

G o w n s are m a d e of heavy, p a t t e r n e d b r o c a d e s a n d vel­

vets, with a d d e d e m b r o i d e r y . Bodices are still tight a n d laced, sleeves are tied with ribbons, decoratively slashed, a n d white blouses show t h r o u g h the slits. Skirts fall in or­

gan­pipe pleats.

Despite the existence of their own highly developed lo­

cal style, Italian w o m e n were receptive to fashions imported f r o m a b r o a d . S p a n i s h influence c o m i n g via Naples, ruled by the A r a g o n dynasty, was especially strong.

A u n i q u e n e w style was b o r n at the Castilian court a r o u n d 1470. It incorporated medieval traditions, M o o r i s h motifs, Italian R e n a i s s a n c e ideas, a n d s o m e innovations 24

Originalveröffentlichung in: Grabski, Józef ; Wałek, Janusz (Hrsgg.): Leonardo da Vinci - Lady with an ermine : (1452 - 1519) ; from the Czartoryski Collection, National Museum, Cracow, Vienna u.a. 1991, S. 24-27

of its own. D a r k b r o w n or black h a i r was generally fa­ vored, divided in two s m o o t h waves circling the cheeks, g a t h e r e d at the back in a l o n g q u e u e , covered on the h e a d with a cap, the b r a i d b e i n g h i d d e n in a long cloth casing (called in S p a n i s h el tranzado, in English pigtail). I n the f r o n t the a r r a n g e m e n t of the h a i r was identical with the d o m i n a n t fashion for centuries a m o n g O r i e n t a l w o m e n as f a r as Persia a n d A r a b i a , as well as M o o r i s h A n d a l u s i a . Braids were p u t into o r n a m e n t e d casings already in R o m a n e s q u e France. T h e small cap at the back was fixed by a fillet across the brow.

T h e bodices of the S p a n i s h gowns were similar to Italian ones b u t the skirts were entirely different. In 1468, w h e n J u a n a de Portugal, the wife of the k i n g of Castile, E n r i q u e I V el I m p o t e n t e , was p r e g n a n t with a n illegiti­

m a t e child, she invented a bell­shaped u n d e r s k i r t

stiffened by reed hoops (los verdugos or guarda-infante, in En­

glish farthingale). A typical S p a n i s h los verdugos gown was c o m p l e t e d by a cape with o n e vertical o p e n i n g for the a r m (sbernia) a n d b u s k i n shoes (los chapines), also a n O r i e n t a l invention.

T h e f a s h i o n style alia castellana c o u l d o n l y b e c r e a t e d o n S p a n i s h soil as a successful c o m b i n a t i o n of d i f f e r e n t e l e m e n t s in a h i g h l y o r g a n i c a n d o r i g i n a l f o r m . It d e t e r ­ m i n e d a n e w s y s t e m of m o v e m e n t s , poses, a n d gestures, c o n t r i b u t i n g to t h e S p a n i s h c o u r t e t i q u e t t e w h i c h was s o o n to f a s c i n a t e E u r o p e . I n a very s h o r t t i m e t h e S p a n ­ ish style f o r w o m e n h a d p e n e t r a t e d n e i g h b o r i n g c o u n ­ tries, a p p e a r i n g e p h e m e r a l l y in F r a n c e , F l a n d e r s , E n ­ g l a n d , a n d G e r m a n y a n d m a k i n g its g r e a t e s t c o n q u e s t in Italy. It r a r e l y kept its r i g i d f o r m ; m o r e o f t e n t h a n n o t , s o m e typically S p a n i s h f e a t u r e s w e r e c o m b i n e d w i t h local ones. W h o was c a p a b l e of i m i t a t i n g fully t h e S p a n i s h ladies?

It was a b o u t 1480 that the S p a n i s h fashion e n t e r e d Ita­

ly t h r o u g h Naples, a n d over the next ten years it r e a c h e d the n o r t h e r n part of the country. Its p a t h m a y b e t r a c e d with great accuracy t h a n k s to a p r o f u s i o n of literary a n d i c o n o g r a p h i c sources. O n e of the first p a i n t i n g s with la­

dies r e p r e s e n t e d in S p a n i s h style is L o r e n z o C o s t a ' s The Bentivoglio Family Before the Madonna Enthroned, d a t e d 1488, in the c h u r c h of S a n G i a c o m o M a g g i o r e in Bologna.

L u c r e z i a Borgia a n d Isabella a n d Beatrice d ' E s t e were greatly responsible for the spread of the new fashion to n o r t h e r n Italy. T h e court of Este in F e r r a r a was closely

c o n n e c t e d to the A r a g o n court in Naples. Beatrice, d a u g h t e r of E l e o n o r e of A r a g o n , m a r r i e d the d u k e of M i ­ lan, L u d o v i c o Sforza ("il M o r o " ) in 1491, a n d i n t r o d u c e d the S p a n i s h style to M i l a n . U n t i l then the ladies of M i l a n h a d w o r n costumes similar to the Florentine style, with some G e r m a n influences {alia tedesca). I n s p i r e d by Bea­

trice, they c o m b e d their h a i r d o w n in s m o o t h waves, a d o p t e d the pigtails falling f r o m small caps a n d the black fillets, a n d o r n a m e n t e d the coiffure a n d the neck with pearls a n d o t h e r jewels, favoring b e a d s of black a m b e r (ambra nera). T h e y accepted the sbernia, b u t were not brave e n o u g h to wear the farthingales a n d b u s k i n shoes.

T h i s severely f o r m a l fashion is depicted in a great n u m b e r of court portraits o n panels, in m i n i a t u r e s , m u r a l s , m a r b l e busts, a n d even tiny cameos. Yet it was ex­

t i n g u i s h e d after Beatrice's d e a t h in 1497 a n d L u d o v i c o ' s expulsion f r o m M i l a n two years later. T h e most n o t a b l e p o r t r a i t s of M i l a n e s e ladies in S p a n i s h d r e s s a r e as fol­

lows: B e a t r i c e d ' E s t e in the Pala Sforzesca ( B r e r a Gallery, M i l a n ) a n d in a b u s t by G i a n C r i s t o f o r o R o m a n o ( L o u v r e , Paris); t h e s u p p o s e d B e a t r i c e in t h e Dama alia Reticella, school of L e o n a r d o ( P i n a c o t e c a A m b r o s i a n a , M i l a n ) , a n d in a p a i n t i n g by A l e s s a n d r o A r a l d i ( U f f i z i Gallery, F l o r e n c e ) ; Bona of Savoy ( T h e N a t i o n a l Gallery, L o n d o n ) ; Bianca Maria Sforza by A m b r o g i o d a P r e d i s ( N a t i o n a l G a l l e r y of A r t , W a s h i n g t o n ) ; a n d L u c r e z i a Crivelli (?) in La Belle Ferronniere, school of L e o n a r d o ( L o u v r e ) [Fig. 15].

T h e Lady with an Ermine b e l o n g s to this d i s t i n g u i s h e d list. T h e t h r e e ­ q u a r t e r p o s i t i o n of h e r h e a d allows o n e to see o n l y t h e o u t l i n e of t h e c a p a n d pigtail. A g a u z e veil h e l d by a b l a c k fillet covers t h e h e a d . T h e a u b u r n h a i r , c o m b e d d o w n , h a s lost its o r i g i n a l w a v y line a n d n o w c o m e s u n d e r t h e c h i n d u e to a f a u l t in r e n o v a t i o n . T h e sitter w e a r s a n e c k l a c e of b l a c k a m b e r . H e r g o w n , m a ­ r o o n in color, is e m b r o i d e r e d in p a t t e r n s of k n o t s a n d loops. T h e b l a c k lines in t h e f r o n t of t h e b o d i c e a n d t h e t a p e s of t h e sleeves a r e u n f o r t u n a t e l y r e p a i n t e d . S h e also h a s a b l u e sbernia w i t h a g o l d e n l i n i n g .

M o s t scholars h a v e d a t e d t h e p a i n t i n g a b o u t 1483, j u s t a f t e r L e o n a r d o ' s a r r i v a l in M i l a n . T h i s view is

b a s e d u p o n the c o r r e s p o n d e n c e b e t w e e n C e c i l i a G a l l e r ­ a n i , a l a d y of t h e S f o r z a c o u r t , a n d I s a b e l l a d ' E s t e . I n a l e t t e r of 1497, C e c i l i a w r o t e t h a t she w a s q u i t e y o u n g at t h e t i m e w h e n L e o n a r d o p a i n t e d her, a n d t h a t she was

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14) L e o n a r d o d a Vinci, Lady with an Ermine, C z a r t o r y s k i Collection, Cracow.

15) L e o n a r d o d a Vinci, La Belle Ferronniere, 1490-95, detail, L o u v r e , Paris.

n o longer like the portrait. Nevertheless, it c a n n o t be proved that she is in fact the subject of the Lady with an Er­

mine. We d o not k n o w any M i l a n e s e p o r t r a i t of a r o u n d 1483 showing S p a n i s h dress; almost all those p o r t r a i t s in which the fashion a p p e a r s were p a i n t e d a b o u t 1490 a n d in the next decade, at the time of the great m a t r i m o n i a l c o n n e c t i o n s of M i l a n , F e r r a r a , a n d Naples. It would t h e r e f o r e seem correct to d a t e the Lady with an Ermine a b o u t 1490.

Leonardo's Knots

T h e sitter's gown in the Lady with an Ermine is decorat­

ed with specific o r n a m e n t s k n o w n as " L e o n a r d o ' s k n o t s "

{nodi di Leonardo). N o scholar has paid any a t t e n t i o n to t h e m , possibly b e c a u s e they are located in the d a r k por­

tions of the picture a n d are partly d e f o r m e d by r e p a i n t i n g .

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T h r e e different types of o r n a m e n t s m a y be discerned:

First, d o u b l e loops in figure-of-eight f o r m r e p e a t e d in an endless system (on the edge of the decolletage a n d on the sleeves); second, endless knots, slightly d e f o r m e d , repeat­ ed in s q u a r e fields (on the right side of the bodice, as well as at the top of the right sleeve); a n d third, knots as above with the addition of quatrefoil loops (on the left sleeve u n ­ d e r the layer of red paint, visible only w h e n lighted f r o m a certain angle).

A c o m p a r a t i v e basis for the p r o b l e m is offered by the knots L e o n a r d o d r e w in his m a n u s c r i p t s , in p a r t i c u l a r in the Codice Atlantico; the e m b l e m a t i c etchings f o u n d e d on the knots a n d interlacing motifs with the inscription Leonardi Vinci Academia, which are a t t r i b u t e d to L e o n a r d o , a n d woodcut copies of t h e m m a d e by Albrecht Diirer; the m u r a l d e c o r a t i o n of the Sala delle Asse in the Castello Sforzesco in M i l a n ; a n d finally, by the a n a l o g o u s motifs of knots a n d loops in the costume d e c o r a t i o n s of certain other p a i n t i n g s by L e o n a r d o .

T h e r e is also literary evidence. Vasari noted L e o n a r d o ' s passion for knot designs; it is also k n o w n that he himself took such designs f r o m Florence to M i l a n . Scholars were i n t r i g u e d by these knots very early on, the F r e n c h

positivists J . D. Passavant a n d G. d A d d a e x p l a i n i n g t h e m as p a t t e r n s for c o s t u m e e m b r o i d e r y . M o r e recently the in­

t e r p r e t a t i o n was greatly b r o a d e n e d , as s o m e symbolic in­

tricacies were p r e s u m e d . L u d w i g G o l d s c h e i d e r p u t for­

w a r d the suggestion that the e m b l e m a t i c e n g r a v i n g s r e p r e s e n t e d tickets for scientific d e b a t e s o r g a n i z e d by L e o n a r d o , a n d r e a d in the knots a c r y p t o g r a p h i c signa­

t u r e of the painter, b a s e d o n a p u n f r o m vincire (to lace,

to knot) a n d Vinci. A n a n d a K . C o o m a r a s w a m y inter­

p r e t e d the e m b l e m s as an old labyrinth subject or even a universal f o r m d e n o t i n g the cosmos. M i r c e a Eliade ex­

plained the knots as an a n c i e n t m a g i c sign a n d a n attrib­

u t e of such I n d o ­ E u r o p e a n gods as V a r u n a , A h r i m a n , a n d O d i n . M a r c e l Brion, in s u m m i n g u p the o p i n i o n s of his predecessors, also stressed the symbolic values of L e o n a r d o ' s knots.

T h e s e investigations were largely devoid of analysis of the f o r m s L e o n a r d o ' s knots take. H e r e the knots m a y be divided into several groups. S o m e of t h e m simply repeat m a i n l y M o o r i s h a n d Turkish p a t t e r n s , others are free var­

iations on O r i e n t a l motifs, while still others are the artist's invention based on the E u r o p e a n o r n a m e n t a l tradition.

Particularly i m p o r t a n t is the endless k n o t applied b o t h in the e m b l e m a t i c compositions a n d in the gown d e c o r a t i o n of the Lady with an Ermine. D e r i v i n g f r o m the Far East, it belongs, as the sign of longevity, to the set of Eight L u c k y S y m b o l s of B u d d h i s m . T h i s sign was ex­

t r e m e l y p o p u l a r a n d spread f r o m one c o u n t r y to another, a p p e a r i n g on vessels, textiles, rugs, jewels, coins, a n d a r m s f r o m at least the twelfth century. It c a m e to Italy as early as the f o u r t e e n t h c e n t u r y a n d is f o u n d , for instance, in L u c c a n textiles, b u t was m u c h m o r e in fashion by the second half of the fifteenth century, especially in Venice.

L e o n a r d o ' s d r a w i n g s of the endless knot have survived in several places in the Codice Atlantico.

T h u s we find in the c o s t u m e a n d h e a d d r e s s of the Lady with an Ermine specific motifs of O r i e n t a l derivation: the M o o r i s h ­ i n s p i r e d S p a n i s h style a n d the ancient, enig­

m a t i c knots.

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