Ginevra de' Benci
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Template:Painting Ginevra de' Benci was a lady of the aristocratic class in 15th century Florence, admired for exceptional intelligence by her Florentine contemporaries. Today she is remembered by art enthusiasts around the world, because she is the subject of one of only 17 extant paintings attributed to Leonardo da Vinci. The oil-on-wood portrait was permanently acquired by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. in 1967 for 5 million dollars paid to the Princely House of Liechtenstein, a record price at the time. It is the only painting attributed to Leonardo in the Western Hemisphere.
Controversy has surrounded the portrait for decades; there is no definitive proof that Leonardo painted the work and some art critics feel that the painting is below his lofty standards. Nevertheless, there is compelling circumstantial evidence that the painting is an authentic Leonardo and the National Gallery of Art claims on its website that "it is now accepted by virtually all Leonardo scholars" as genuine.
It is known from three written sources that Leonardo painted a portrait of Ginevra de' Benci in 1474 in commemoration of her marriage to Luigi Niccolini, and the painting's imagery and reverse text support this theme. Directly behind the young lady in the portrait is a juniper tree. The reverse of the portrait is decorated with a juniper sprig encircled by a wreath of laurel and palm and is memorialized by the phrase Virtutem forma decorat ("Beauty adorns Virtue"). The Italian word for juniper is "ginepro," which leads many to believe that the juniper motif is a symbolic pun on Ginevra's name. Fittingly, juniper was also a Renaissance symbol for chastity.
Controversy aside, Ginevra de' Benci is one of the highlights of the National Gallery of Art, and is admired by many for its portrayal of Ginevra's temperament. Ginevra is beautiful but austere; she has no hint of a smile and her gaze, though forward, seems indifferent to the viewer. Unfortunately, art enthusiasts will never see the full Ginevra de' Benci, because at some point in the past a strip from the bottom of the painting was removed, presumably due to damage, and Ginevra's arms and hands were lost.
External links
- [1] (http://www.nga.gov/cgi-bin/pinfo?Object=50442+0+none) Website of the National Gallery of Art, where Ginevra de' Benci may be viewed onlineit:Ritratto Benci (Leonardo)