Bona of Savoy and Galeazzo Maria Sforza as Daphne and Apollo, c. 1468
Bona of Savoy
not every portrait painter has the abilities of a Leonardo da Vinci
Bona of Savoy
Bona of Savoy
Bona of Savoy
Bona of Savoy
Bona of Savoy (centre) as Saint Catherine of Alexandria
next to her sisters-in-law Ippolita Maria Sforza (left) as Saint Lucia and Elisabetta Maria Sforza (right) as Saint Magdalene
Bona of Savoy
with her first son Gian Galeazzo II. Maria as Saint Mary with the Child Jesus Christ – on the left side of her blue coat, one of the most important symbols of the Visconti-Sforza-dynasty, the Golden Sun, can be found
Bona of Savoy, Duchess of Milan
Bona of Savoy as Saint Catherine of Alexandria
Bona of Savoy
with her first-born son Gian Galeazzo II. Maria Sforza as Saint Mary with the Child Jesus Christ
Bona of Savoy and her son Gian Galeazzo II. Maria Sforza as Saint Mary with the Child Jesus Christ
in the painting you can also see one of the first symbols of the House of Sforza, the pear- and/or apple-shaped quince, and the symbol for female fertility in the Middle Ages, the cherry
Bona of Savoy as Saint Mary
Bona of Savoy as Saint Barbara with a donor
Bona of Savoy as Saint Mary
although the painter can't compare himself with Leonardo da Vinci's talent, he is clearly able to show whom he wants to depict as Saint Mary by using the symbols of the Milanese Dynasty. The above Saint Mary displays the Visconti-Sforza Sun as well as the French Lily on her coat which only Bona of Savoy had the right to do.
Bona of Savoy
with her eldest son Gian Galeazzo II. Maria Sforza who is dressed in the colours of his dynasty – in the background of this painting you can see the two main centres of the Milanese dynasty of the Visconti-Sforza: Milan (on the left side) and Pavia (on the right side)
Bona of Savoy as Saint Catherine of Alexandria
Bona of Savoy
Bona of Savoy