Ginevra de' Benci
Leonardo da Vinci, Ginevra de' Benci, 1474-75, oil on panel
Leonardo da Vinci’s painting Ginevra de’ Benci, completed in 1474, was one of his first ventures into the world of oil painting. The work, the only one of da Vinci’s to permanently reside in the United States, shows the beginning stages of the development of his oil painting skills. The painting highlights Renaissance qualities such as the centering of the human body, as it represents the human body in a naturalistic, realistic way. This painting also differed from da Vinci’s previous paintings, as it strayed from his usual religious works, and instead depicted a secular subject matter.
Leonardo da Vinci’s work is incredibly recognizable, but the woman in it is not. Ginevra de’ Benci was an Italian noblewoman born in 1457 to a family of wealthy Florentine merchants. The portrait is thought to have been commissioned for her wedding, or possibly by one of her admirers. Ginevra de’ Benci was the subject of many poems composed by her admirers, two of which were written by Lorenzo de Medici, the head of the Medici family, and de facto ruler of Florence. Ginevra's desirability ended up being her downfall, as she spent her final years in self-imposed exile after an ill-fated love affair, suffering from an illness that eventually caused her death.
The front of the painting may reveal a significant amount about Ginevra's apperance, the reverse of the panel has an inscription that reads "Virtutem Forma Decorat"—"Beauty Adorns Virtue". The exhibition aims to portray Ginevra de' Benci as more than just a beautiful face from history, and instead as an historical figure with an intriguing story to tell.
By Allie