On Monday, we'll begin the final lap of the Monday Mustelid, namely the 18 members of the genus Mustela. So it seems apt to post what is probably the most famous image of a mustelid, Leonardo Da Vinci's "Lady with the Ermine" (1482-'83). You can read more about the portrait here.
This is by way of pointing out that there are a number of the remaining species that I am unable to find a good picture of. So this will be the sole mention of M. africana Desmarest, 1818 which would have been our Monday Mustelid next week.
- Log in to post comments
More like this
No Cox please, we're British... « In the Dark
"The problem with Wonders of the Universe is betrayed by its title. The word "wonders" suggests that the Universe is wonder-ful, or even, in a word which has cropped up in the series a few times, "awesome". No authentic British person would ever use…
Many, many thanks to everyone who took the time to think about, and comment on, the Erongo carcass (featured on Tet Zoo yesterday). As you might know if you checked the news article, this naturally mummified carcass was discovered in 2002 (or so) in a cave in the Erongo Mountains, Namibia. Local…
"Always try to keep a patch of sky above your life." -Marcel Proust
Welcome to another Messier Monday, where each week we take an in-depth look at one of the 110 deep sky objects that make up the Messier Catalogue! Messier was not the first person to try and make an accurate, large catalog of deep…
"Beauty is a manifestation of secret natural laws, which otherwise would have been hidden from us forever." -Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Welcome back to another Messier Monday here on Starts With A Bang! Each Monday, we go through one of the 110 deep-sky wonders of the Messier Catalogue, some of the…
Maybe I'm wrong, but in my opinion the animal portraited is not an ermine but a ferret, the domesticated and often albinotic form of european polecat (Mustela putorius furo). The ermine is much smaller than the animal Leonardo used, and the ferret is, and was, fairly widespread in Italy. Am I wrong?
Marco
P. S. This is a domestic ferret: http://spedr.com/ss9c
portraited=portrayed. Sorry
Definitely not an ermine. They are very cute and small enough to fit in your hand, especially a hand with freakishly long fingers like the girl's in the picture. Wikipedia also calls this critter a ferret. (see the bottom of the page)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ermine
Wonder if Leonardo made a careless mistake or was making a joke contrasting the ermine, associated with nobility because of its fur, with the common ferret.
Be sure to check out today's ZooBorn, a cute little Mustelid, Eno the Orphan Otter.
The pig version in Britain:
http://www.mediawatchwatch.org.uk/2008/10/13/painting-of-lady-with-pig-…
This is one of my all-time favorite Da Vinci paintings. The ermine/ferret is not even the weirdest thing about this work--look at that giant, claw-like hand!