La Belle Ferronnière
c. 1490–1497 · Oil on walnut panel · Musée du Louvre, Paris
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About this work
- Artist
- Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519)
- Year
- c. 1490–1497
- Medium
- Oil on walnut panel
- Original size
- 63 × 45 cm
- Collection
- Musée du Louvre, Paris
- Movement
- Renaissance
A young woman in a red dress with ribboned sleeves turns her head to look past the viewer, a fine band with a jewel across her forehead and a double string of beads at her neck; she is set behind a stone parapet against black. Leonardo painted the portrait on walnut in Milan in about 1490–1497, while in the service of Duke Ludovico Sforza. The sitter is not known. The title, in use by the seventeenth century, comes from the ferronnière, the jewelled band she wears, and from a story linking the picture to a mistress of Francis I married to a man named Le Ferron. She has since been identified tentatively as Lucrezia Crivelli, a lady-in-waiting at the Milanese court, and, in the National Gallery's 2011 Leonardo exhibition, possibly as Beatrice d'Este, Ludovico's wife. Some earlier scholars gave the picture to his followers, but it is now widely accepted as Leonardo's. It hangs in the Louvre.
This print reproduces the whole work, uncropped, from a high-resolution scan of the original. The original is in the public domain.
Where it works
A young woman in rust red with a jewelled forehead band against pure black behind a stone ledge, for a study, bedroom or hallway at 16×24 in black. A deep red, charcoal or warm white wall; it pairs with Lady with an Ermine.
Style, size & framing detail
- Style
- Renaissance painting
- Era
- 15th century (c. 1490–1497)
- Orientation
- Portrait
- Mood
- intimate
- Rooms
- bedroom, hallway or entryway, study or library, living room, dining room
- Good gift for
- housewarming, art lovers
Size. We'd hang this one at 16×24. Prints at 12×18, 16×24 in — 12×18 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid; 16×24 above a desk, console or in a hallway.
Framing. The gallery ground is part of the print, so frame it without a mat — black suits the deep tones of this period; natural wood lightens it.
Pairing. Pairs as a set of three with other famous painting prints (10% off three or more).
Details & materials
Shipping & returns
Is this the whole painting, or a crop?
Is La Belle Ferronnière in the public domain?
What is it printed on?
When was La Belle Ferronnière painted, and in what medium?
What size works above a sofa or bed?
About this design
The Madten promise
An exhibition poster
The same artwork as a gallery exhibition poster — title, artist & date typeset beneath the image on a soft ground.
