What could be more enchanting than a mystery? I suppose, only the love for the mystery and the quest which one embarks on trying to solve it. One of the greatest and most influential artists of all times known as an accomplished master to create mystery in his paintings was Leonardo da Vinci. More than five hundred years an aura of mystery and fascination has been surrounding one of his paintings – the Lady with an Ermine (1489-1490). On the first view, it appears to be extremely “simple” portrait. However, behind its simple façade, Leonardo da Vinci hides a long list of coded signs and symbols. Every detail in the picture - posture, gesture, costume, colour and the animal itself - is significant and numerous meanings have been assigned to these details.
The idea to create the "Lady with an Ermine" project for "May you Live in Interesting Times" Series was influenced by the thorough research on Leonardo da Vinci’s women portraits and scientific discoveries. My interest and knowledge of an art history and theory, natural curiosity, and certain objects from my private collection of antique costumes, accessories and armour, have served as inspiration and have helped me to develop my ideas.
The project "Lady with an Ermine" was intended to be a critical view of gender issues and female roles in society. The initial idea was to use Leonardo da Vinci's iconic imagery as a recognisable ‘constant’, and play with posture and gesture, to add different layers. Reading a system of signs and symbols of objects and colours produce the meaning and interpretation of my work.
I am a partially sighted person and the best way to describe how I see the world is a blurred double vision. This is one of the reason why I am often using double images in my work.
The idea to create the "Lady with an Ermine" project for "May you Live in Interesting Times" Series was influenced by the thorough research on Leonardo da Vinci’s women portraits and scientific discoveries. My interest and knowledge of an art history and theory, natural curiosity, and certain objects from my private collection of antique costumes, accessories and armour, have served as inspiration and have helped me to develop my ideas.
The project "Lady with an Ermine" was intended to be a critical view of gender issues and female roles in society. The initial idea was to use Leonardo da Vinci's iconic imagery as a recognisable ‘constant’, and play with posture and gesture, to add different layers. Reading a system of signs and symbols of objects and colours produce the meaning and interpretation of my work.
I am a partially sighted person and the best way to describe how I see the world is a blurred double vision. This is one of the reason why I am often using double images in my work.
