Ginevra de' Benci
Encyclopedia
Ginevra de' Benci was an aristocrat from 15th-century Florence
, admired for her intelligence by Florentine contemporaries. She is the subject of a portrait painting by Leonardo da Vinci
. The oil-on-wood portrait
was acquired by the National Gallery of Art
in Washington, D.C.
, in 1967, for US$5 million paid to the Princely House of Liechtenstein, a record price at the time, from the Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund. This portrait is currently the only painting by Leonardo in the Americas (Hand 2004).
It is known that Leonardo painted a portrait of Ginevra de' Benci in 1474, possibly to commemorate her marriage that year to Luigi di Bernardo Niccolini at the age of 16. However, according to Giorgio Vasari's "Lives of the Artists" (Second and Corrected Edition) Ginevra was not the daughter of Amerigo de' Benci but his wife. The painting's imagery and the text on the reverse of the panel support the identification of this picture. 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 suggests that the juniper motif was used here as a symbolic pun on Ginevra's name. However, this pun is not supported by any contemporary historical source and the juniper stood as a symbol of sorrow, pain and loss in the whole of the Middle Ages. Therefore the juniper was frequently used in portrait paintings of widows. According to Maike Vogt-Luerssen the depicted (on the right) is not Ginevra de' Benci but Fioretta Gorini, the widow of the murdered Giuliano de' Medici. The painting was made by Leonardo in 1479/80.
The portrait 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 owing to damage, and Ginevra's arms and hands were lost. Using the golden section, Susan Dorothea White
has drawn an interpretation of how her arms and hands may have been positioned in the original.
According to Giorgio Vasari
, Ginevra de' Benci was also included in the fresco by Domenico Ghirlandaio
of the Visitation of Mary and Elizabeth in the church of Santa Maria Novella in Florence, but it is now believed that Vasari made a mistake and that Ghirlandaio painted Giovanna Tornabuoni.
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
, admired for her intelligence by Florentine contemporaries. She is the subject of a portrait painting by Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was an Italian Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer whose genius, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomized the Renaissance...
. The oil-on-wood portrait
Portrait
thumb|250px|right|Portrait of [[Thomas Jefferson]] by [[Rembrandt Peale]], 1805. [[New-York Historical Society]].A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expression is predominant. The intent is to display the likeness,...
was acquired by the National Gallery of Art
National Gallery of Art
The National Gallery of Art and its Sculpture Garden is a national art museum, located on the National Mall between 3rd and 9th Streets at Constitution Avenue NW, in Washington, DC...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, in 1967, for US$5 million paid to the Princely House of Liechtenstein, a record price at the time, from the Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund. This portrait is currently the only painting by Leonardo in the Americas (Hand 2004).
It is known that Leonardo painted a portrait of Ginevra de' Benci in 1474, possibly to commemorate her marriage that year to Luigi di Bernardo Niccolini at the age of 16. However, according to Giorgio Vasari's "Lives of the Artists" (Second and Corrected Edition) Ginevra was not the daughter of Amerigo de' Benci but his wife. The painting's imagery and the text on the reverse of the panel support the identification of this picture. Directly behind the young lady in the portrait is a juniper
Juniper
Junipers are coniferous plants in the genus Juniperus of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on taxonomic viewpoint, there are between 50-67 species of juniper, widely distributed throughout the northern hemisphere, from the Arctic, south to tropical Africa in the Old World, and to the...
tree. The reverse of the portrait is decorated with a juniper sprig encircled by a wreath of laurel
Bay Laurel
The bay laurel , also known as sweet bay, bay tree, true laurel, Grecian laurel, laurel tree, or simply laurel, is an aromatic evergreen tree or large shrub with green, glossy leaves, native to the Mediterranean region. It is the source of the bay leaf used in cooking...
and palm and is memorialized by the phrase VIRTUTEM FORMA DECORAT ("beauty adorns virtue"). The Italian word for juniper is "ginepro", which suggests that the juniper motif was used here as a symbolic pun on Ginevra's name. However, this pun is not supported by any contemporary historical source and the juniper stood as a symbol of sorrow, pain and loss in the whole of the Middle Ages. Therefore the juniper was frequently used in portrait paintings of widows. According to Maike Vogt-Luerssen the depicted (on the right) is not Ginevra de' Benci but Fioretta Gorini, the widow of the murdered Giuliano de' Medici. The painting was made by Leonardo in 1479/80.
The portrait 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 owing to damage, and Ginevra's arms and hands were lost. Using the golden section, Susan Dorothea White
Susan Dorothea White
Susan Dorothea White , also called Sue White and Susan White, is an Australian painter, sculptor, and printmaker. She is a narrative artist and her work concerns the natural world and human situation, increasingly incorporating satire and irony to convey her concern for human rights and equality...
has drawn an interpretation of how her arms and hands may have been positioned in the original.
According to Giorgio Vasari
Giorgio Vasari
Giorgio Vasari was an Italian painter, writer, historian, and architect, who is famous today for his biographies of Italian artists, considered the ideological foundation of art-historical writing.-Biography:...
, Ginevra de' Benci was also included in the fresco by Domenico Ghirlandaio
Domenico Ghirlandaio
Domenico Ghirlandaio was an Italian Renaissance painter from Florence. Among his many apprentices was Michelangelo.-Early years:Ghirlandaio's full name is given as Domenico di Tommaso di Currado di Doffo Bigordi...
of the Visitation of Mary and Elizabeth in the church of Santa Maria Novella in Florence, but it is now believed that Vasari made a mistake and that Ghirlandaio painted Giovanna Tornabuoni.
Sources
- Hand, J. O. (2004). National Gallery of Art: master paintings from the collection. New York, National Gallery of Art, Washington, p. 28. ISBN 0-8109-5619-5
External links
- Website of the National Gallery of Art, where Ginevra de' Benci may be viewed online
- High resolution zoomable image of Ginevra de' Benci, plus a kid-friendly discussion of this important portrait by Leonardo da Vinci
- Essay on this painting from the book Beauty and Terror by Brian A. Oard
- Susan Dorothea White Surgery Reattaching Ginevra de'Benci's Arms and Hands, 2005