Lady with a Weasel

What the painting shows

This painting is a modern parody of Leonardo da Vinci's Lady with an Ermine, one of the most valuable works in Polish collections, held at the Czartoryski Museum in Kraków. The woman keeps the original pose: she sits turned three-quarters to the right, looks to the side and holds a white-grey animal from the weasel family.

The difference is that the lady has been turned into someone from a much tougher background. She has black tribal tattoos on her cheek and chest, a teardrop tattoo under her eye, a black choker with a round pendant and letters tattooed on her fingers. She wears a black band across her forehead and her lips are slightly parted. Her dress has an orange-red sleeve and a blue sash, echoing the costume in the original.

The background is black, and on the left the words "LET ME GO" are written in grey and glittery letters. The Polish title is a pun: the ermine (stoat) belongs to the weasel family, and the lady "slings prison slang" (grypsuje) and does tattoos.

Technique and style

A vertical oil painting on canvas in a simplified, illustrative manner. The face and hand are modelled realistically, while the dress and background are treated more flatly. It belongs to a popular contemporary trend of reinterpreting masterpieces (remix or parody), in which a famous painting is moved into a completely different cultural context.

At a glance

• Medium: oil paint
• Surface: canvas
• Orientation: portrait (vertical)
• Dominant colours: black, orange-red, blue, greys, skin tones
• Subjects: Lady with an Ermine, Leonardo da Vinci, parody, tattoos, ermine, weasel

Fun fact

The black background of Lady with an Ermine is not original. Technical studies showed that Leonardo painted it blue-grey, and the black was added much later, most likely in the 19th century. French engineer Pascal Cotte, scanning the painting with a special multispectral camera, also found earlier versions of the composition, including one in which the woman is not yet holding the ermine.

Want a similar painting?

The Fart studio paints commissioned artwork: portraits of people and pets, landscapes and absurd scenes like this one. You can order a similar piece featuring Lady with an Ermine, Leonardo da Vinci, parody, starring your own pet, a loved one or your favourite place. Just describe your idea in the contact form and attach a photo.