Ginevra de' Benci
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| Ginevra de' Benci |
| Leonardo da Vinci, circa 1476 |
| oil on wood |
| 38.8 × 36.7 cm, 15.3 × 14.4 inches |
| National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. |
Ginevra de' Benci was a lady of the aristocratic class in 15th century Florence, admired for her intelligence by Florentine contemporaries. 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.
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, 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. A strip from the bottom of the painting was removed in the past, presumably due to damage, and Ginevra's arms and hands were lost.
