Among the masterpieces of world painting in the Louvre is a portrait of a young woman by Leonardo da Vinci (or his students), which is known today as the “Beautiful Ferronniere”. The painting received this name because of the decoration, which is called a ferronniere or ferronniere: a precious stone on a cord, chain or hoop, fixed in the hair and descending onto the forehead.
Portrait of Bianca Maria Sforza, Ambrogio de Predis or Bernardino dei Conti, Louvre.
It should be said that initially “The Beautiful Ferronniere” was the name of a completely different painting – a portrait of a young woman, presumably Bianca Maria Sforza. But there was confusion in the museum records, the name was attributed to Leonardo’s portrait, and it became generally accepted before the error was discovered.
Portrait of Bianca Maria Sforza, unknown artist, private collection.
The portraits clearly show the richly decorated mesh headdress worn by Italian Renaissance women, covering the back of the head, which is held in place by a cord tied across the forehead at the back of the head. In Bianca’s portraits, the cord is decorated with a pendant on the side, but the version of the cord with a pendant on the forehead was called a ferronniere. However, the name itself did not appear in Italy, but in France.
It was believed that such an ornament was worn by Madame Ferronniere, one of the favorites of the French King Francis I, who was called “The Beautiful Ferronniere”. Whether such a lady actually existed is not known for certain, but the name stuck.
Portrait of a Young Woman, Piero del Pollaiuolo, circa 1470, Museo Poldi Pezzoli, Milan.
Ferronnieres, so popular in Italy and France during the Renaissance, were forgotten for several centuries and came back into fashion at the beginning of the 19th century. Costume balls were a popular entertainment since the 1820s. And old portraits served as a source of inspiration for both clothing and accessories. The ferronniere was initially an element of a masquerade costume, but quickly became a fashionable ornament. The hairstyles of that time with a central parting and an open forehead were ideal for this fashion.
Portrait of a Lady (Beatrice d’Este), circa 1490, Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, Milan.
Bakunina Evdokia Mikhailovna (1793/94 – 1882) – the eldest daughter of Mikhail Mikhailovich Bakunin, major general, senator, privy councilor. In 1820, she settled in Moscow with her parents. She received a good education at home. In 1832, she entered the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts. In 1835-1839, she studied painting in France and Italy. She received a gold medal from the Academy. At one time, she was the bride of the poet Adam Mickiewicz, but the wedding did not take place due to religious differences between the bride and groom. Princess Sophia Alexandrovna Urusova, married Princess Radziwill (1804-1889) – socialite beauty, lady-in-waiting, favorite of Nicholas I.
Tatiana Borisovna Potemkina, née Princess Golitsyna (1797-1869) – lady-in-waiting, wife of the actual privy councilor A.M. Potemkin, a famous philanthropist.
Portrait of Beatrice d’Este by Giovanni Pietro Birago, British Library.Lady with an Ermine, oil on wood panel, Leonardo da Vinci, circa 1489, National Museum, Krakow.Portrait of Queen Victoria in Rubies, John Partridge, 1840, from the British Royal Collection.Portrait of Queen Victoria, mezzotint, J. Stewart Pinkst, engraver G. H. Avery, 1838, from the collection of the British Museum.Empress Elizabeth Alexeyevna, watercolour, Jean Henri Benner, after 1817, from the collection of the State Hermitage Museum.Portrait of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, lithograph, circa 1830, from the collection of the State Hermitage Museum.Portrait of Countess Julia Pavlovna Samoilova with her ward Giovannina Pacini and a little black boy by Karl Pavlovich Bryullov, 1834, from the collection of the Hillwood Museum, Washington.Natalia Nikolaevna Pushkina Lanskaya (née Goncharova), watercolor, 1831 1832, from the collection of the All Russian Museum of A.S. Pushkin, St. Petersburg.Portrait of E.M. Bakunina in a fur boa, watercolor, Alexander Pavlovich Bryullov, Sokolov P.F. , circa 1830, from the collection of the Tropinin Museum, Moscow.Portrait of Sofia Alexandrovna Urusova, watercolor, Peter Fedorovich Sokolov, 1832.Sofia Alexandrovna Urusova, watercolor, Peter Fedorovich Sokolov.Portrait of Princess Sophia Alexandrovna Urusova, watercolor, Alexander Pavlovich Bryullov, circa 1830, from the collection of the State Hermitage Museum.Portrait of T.B. Potemkina, watercolor, Alexander Pavlovich Bryullov, circa 1830, from the collection of the State Hermitage Museum.Unknown woman in a red beret, Pyotr Fyodorovich Sokolov, circa 1830, from the collection of the Tropinin Museum, Moscow.Portrait of an Unknown Woman in a Turban, watercolor, Karl Pavlovich Bryullov.Countess E.N. Chernysheva with her daughters, watercolor, Alexander Pavlovich Bryullov, circa 1830, from the collection of the State Hermitage Museum.Portrait of a young lady in an open lilac dress, Ignaz Runhalder (Austria), bone, watercolor, gouache, second half of the 19th century, from the collection of the State Hermitage Museum.Portrait of Countess A.S. Sheremeteva, watercolor, Adolf Ivanovich Goebens, 1839, from the collection of the State Hermitage Museum.Young lady with a golden headband, watercolour, Karl Karlovich Gampeln, circa 1840, from the collection of the State Hermitage Museum.Portrait of a young girl, watercolor, Karl Karlovich Gampeln, circa 1830, from the collection of the State Hermitage Museum.Portrait of a young girl, watercolor, unknown artist, circa 1830 1840, from the collection of the State Hermitage Museum.Young lady in an open white dress with a shawl, ivory watercolor, gouache, Moritz Michael Duffinger, Austria, first half of the 19th century, from the collection of the State Hermitage Museum.Portrait of a young woman, oil on canvas, unknown artist, circa 1830, from the collection of the State Hermitage Museum.Portrait of a young woman with a book, watercolor, Alexander Pavlovich Bryullov, 1839‘Vanity’, Frank Cadogan Cowper, oil on panel, 1907, Royal Academy of Arts, London.
