The Lady with an Ermine
Cecilia Galliano
What about that ermine?
A speaker suggested recently that the ermine is too big. He argued that it had been modelled on a cat.
Here is an alternative possibility.
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The Lady with an Ermine
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| This is an ermine (a weasel in its winter coat). It is only five inches long. Note the big black eyes and nose, and the unmistakably cute face. All these are missing from the Lady's "ermine", which is indeed cat-sized, has pink eyes and nose, and aggressive-looking snout pouches. |  |
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This is a ferret. This one has dark guard hairs, but you can get white ferrets. Ferrets make great pets. They are cat-sized and note also the little pink eyes and nose and the snout pouches. I put it to you that Leonardo used a ferret as his model, not a cat. Scroll down for "proof"! |
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