Ginevra de’ Benci by Leonardo da Vinci

E2976

Ginevra de’ Benci by Leonardo da Vinci is a renowned early Renaissance portrait painting celebrated as one of Leonardo’s earliest surviving works and a masterpiece of subtle psychological characterization.


Statements (47)
Predicate Object
instanceOf Renaissance painting
painting
portrait painting
artForm panel painting
artHistoricalPeriod Italian Renaissance
artHistoricalSchool Florentine school
artTechnique oil painting
subtle sfumato modeling
artworkSurface rectangular panel
city Washington, D.C.
collection National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
commissionedIn Florence
country United States
creator Leonardo da Vinci
culturalSignificance important work in the development of Renaissance portrait painting
masterpiece of early Leonardo portraiture
currentStatus extant
dateOfCreation 1470s
depicts Ginevra de’ Benci (Florentine noblewoman)
features juniper bush behind sitter
landscape background
three-quarter view portrait
genre portrait
hasInscription “VIRTUTEM FORMA DECORAT”
hasPart painted reverse side with emblem and motto
hasStyle chiaroscuro modeling
naturalistic
height 38.8 cm
inception c. 1474–1478
inscriptionTranslation “Beauty adorns virtue”
languageOfInscription Latin
location National Gallery of Art
medium oil on panel
movement Early Renaissance
museum National Gallery of Art (West Building)
notableFor early example of psychological characterization in portraiture
innovative integration of sitter and landscape
one of Leonardo da Vinci’s earliest surviving paintings
orientation vertical
originalLocation Florence
reverseDepicts wreath of laurel, palm, and juniper
reverseInscription “VIRTUTEM FORMA DECORAT” on cartellino
subjectGender female
support wood panel
symbolism juniper (allusion to Ginevra’s name)
laurel and palm on reverse (virtue and poetic talent)
width 36.7 cm

Referenced by (2)
Subject (surface form when different) Predicate
Ginevra de’ Benci ("Ginevra de’ Benci (Florentine noblewoman)")
depicts
National Gallery of Art
notableWorkInCollection

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