Lucrezia Crivelli (1464-1534), was an Italian noblewoman and lady-in-waiting. She was a mistress of

Ludovico Sforza Ludovico Maria Sforza (; 27 July 1452 – 27 May 1508), also known as Ludovico il Moro (; 'the Moor'), and called the "arbiter of Italy" by historian Francesco Guicciardini,

"''il Moro''",

Duke of Milan Milan was ruled by dukes from the 13th century to 1814, after which it was incorporated into the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia by the Congress of Vienna. List of dukes of Milan House of Visconti In 1395, Gian Galeazzo Visconti was titled Duke ...

. She was the mother of Sforza's son,

Giovanni Paolo I Sforza Giovanni Paolo I Sforza (March 1497 – December 1535) was an Italian condottiero, the first in the Sforza family line of the Marquesses of Caravaggio. He was a legitimized son of Ludovico il Moro, duke of Milan, and Lucrezia Crivelli. In 1513, ...

, Marquess of

Caravaggio Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (also Michele Angelo Merigi or Amerighi da Caravaggio; 29 September 1571 – 18 July 1610), known mononymously as Caravaggio, was an Italian painter active in Rome for most of his artistic life. During the fina ...

. Crivelli has been thought to be the subject of

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 1452 - 2 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially rested o ...

's painting, .

Personal life

Crivelli was a

lady-in-waiting A lady-in-waiting (alternatively written lady in waiting) or court lady is a female personal assistant at a Royal court, court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking nobility, noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was o ...

to Ludovico Sforza's wife, Beatrice d'Este (29 June 1475 – 2 January 1497). During this time, she also became the mistress of Sforza. In 1497, she gave birth to his son, Giovanni Paolo. Sforza's affair with Crivelli caused much distress to his wife, who was considered accomplished and cultured. Upon learning of the affair, d'Este tried without success to have Crivelli banished from court. However, after Beatrice's death in 1497, Lucrezia returned to court and bore Sforza a second child in 1500. She also had a legitimate daughter by her husband Giovanni da Monastirolo: Bona da Monastirolo, who married Giovanni Pietro Bergamini (son of Cecilia Gallerani, also a former mistress of Sforza, and her husband Ludovico Carminati of Brembilla) and died after 1520. Crivelli's son by Sforza, Giovanni Paolo I Sforza (March 1497 – December 1535), became the first Marquess of Caravaggio, as well as a celebrated

condottiero Condottieri (; singular: ''condottiero'' or ''condottiere'') were Italian military leaders active during the Middle Ages and the early modern period. The term originally referred specifically to commanders of mercenary companies, derived from the ...

. He married Violante Bentivoglio (1505–1550), a granddaughter of

Galeazzo Maria Sforza Galeazzo Maria Sforza (24 January 1444 – 26 December 1476) was the fifth Duke of Milan from 1466 until 1476. He was born to Francesco Sforza, a popular condottiero and ally of Cosimo de' Medici who would gain the Duchy of Milan in 1450 ...

, by his mistress

Lucrezia Landriani Lucrezia Landriani (born c. 1440 – living 17 August 1507) was the mistress of Galeazzo Maria Sforza, Duke of Milan, and the mother of his renowned illegitimate daughter, Caterina Sforza, Lady of Imola, Countess of Forlì. Lucrezia had three oth ...

. The marriage produced a son and a daughter. The fate of their second child is not known. Ludovico Sforza died in 1508. Crivelli lived for many years, until April 12, 1534, in Rocca di Canneto in

Mantua Mantua ( ; ; Lombard language, Lombard and ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Italian region of Lombardy, and capital of the Province of Mantua, eponymous province. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the "Italian Capital of Culture". In 2 ...

, under the protection of

Isabella d'Este Isabella d'Este (19 May 1474 – 13 February 1539) was the Marchioness of Mantua and one of the leading women of the Italian Renaissance as a major cultural and political figure. She was a patron of the arts as well as a leader of fashion ...

, the elder sister of Beatrice.

''La belle ferronnière''

While unproven, Crivelli has long been presumed to be the subject of Leonardo da Vinci's painting ''La belle ferronnière'', which is displayed in the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

. The rationale for the Crivelli identification has been primarily based on da Vinci's earlier depiction of Cecilia Gallerani, in his painting, ''

Lady with an Ermine The ''Lady with an Ermine'' is a portrait painting by the Italian Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci. Dated to , the work is painted in oils on a panel of walnut wood. Its subject is Cecilia Gallerani, a mistress of Ludovico Sforza ("Il Mo ...

''. Gallerani had been an earlier mistress of Sforza. In a 2011 exhibition at the

National Gallery, London The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of more than 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current dire ...

entitled, ''Leonardo Da Vinci: Painter at the Court of Milan'' (9 November 2011 – 5 February 2012), the gallery listed the painting as a possible portrait of

Beatrice d'Este Beatrice d'Este (29 June 1475 – 3 January 1497) a noblewoman from Duchy of Ferrara, Ferrara, duchess of Bari and Milan by her marriage to Ludovico Sforza (known as "Ludovico il Moro"). She was known as a woman of culture, an important patron ...

, wife of Ludovico Sforza, rather than his mistress, Crivelli.

"Profile of a young lady: Lucrezia Crivelli"

It has been initially suspected by

Adolfo Venturi Adolfo Venturi (3 September 1856, Modena – 10 June 1941, Santa Margherita Ligure) was an Italian art historian. His son, Lionello Venturi, was also an art historian. Biography He received his education in Modena and Florence, and in 1878 ...

(1933) and then recently found that the Lucrezia Crivelli is not the Belle Ferronnière at all. In recent years, the original painting of Lucrezia Crivelli, that has been kept in the family for centuries, has been shown to the public, during an important exhibition in Speyer (Historisches Museum from June 19 to November 19, 1995) . But regardless of the enormous success of the painting amongst the general public, the striking elements of the real Crivelli painting are to be found in the examination made by Pinin Barcillon Brambilla ( the restorer of the Last Supper ) who found that some pigments are the same of the Milanese mural .The Speyer Lady - Nathalie Guttmann .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crivelli, Lucrezia 1460s births 1534 deaths 15th-century Italian nobility 16th-century Italian women 15th-century Italian women Italian ladies-in-waiting