I believe the actual title of the painting is Lady with Ermine.  this makes
sense since in the 15th and 16th century only a 'Lady' would be afforded
the luxury of sitting for a portrait, even if it was payed for by her
adulterous lover.
 
Ermine is associated with royalty and purity.
 
I have a print of the painting that looks fantastic in my bathroom.  I
bought it from a great store in my neighbourhood.  The owner saw me come in
one day, probably with a ferret but not neccessarily, and asked me if I had
ever seen the picture of the woman with the ferret they had in the store.
I said no and he told me he would let me know when the one that was on
order came in.  I bought it for myself and was quite excited.
 
If anyone is interested I'm sure you could order a print through a poster
or art store.  If you can't but are interested I could look into getting
you one through "Presents" in Wortley Village in London Ont.  Canada.  It
was $49 cdn. for a framed print.
 
Hey, it would be a great item to buy and donate for raffle to your favorite
ferret shelter!  The framed print is quite nice.
 
Lara with Smokey, Chaos, Baby boy and Phantom.
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[Posted in FML issue 2530]