Leonardo da Vincis Portrait of Ginevra deBenci

Shannon Keith

Art History 336: Women in the Renaissance

Professor Lillian Armstrong
12 January 2010

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In order to understand Da Vincis masterpiece portrait of Ginevra deBenci, one
must first understand the woman herself. Born in 1457, Ginevra was the granddaughter of
Giovanni deBenci, general manager of the Medici bank. In 1474, Ginevra married Luigi
Niccolini who was respectable, but not wealthy. Despite her long life, Ginevra apparently
suffered from poor health given her childless marriage and Niccolinis statement in 1480
that his wife had been in the hands of doctors for a long time. The laurel and palm on
the reverse side of the portrait symbolize poetry and victory and lend credence to the fact
that Ginevra was known as a poet. Garrard suggests that the inscription strung between
the laurel and the palm, VIRTUTEM FORMA DECORAT (Beauty Adorns Virtue),
has a double meaning in that it refers both to Ginevras feminine chastity and the
masculine form of virtue defined as cultural pursuits. Thus, one might safely conclude
that Ginevra deBenci lived the life of a wealthy and cultured woman of Renaissance
Florence.
Some confusion exists regarding who commissioned the painting and to what end.
Some critics claim that the painting was commissioned by a family member to
commemorate Ginervas nuptials. Others assert a more scandalous and unusual origin.
Many art historians surmise that portraits of women during the late 15th century
were painted shortly after their marriages. These portraits served to display the womans
wealth and respectability and, by association, the status of her birth and newly-adopted
families.4 As is the case for most Renaissance portraits, no definite date of creation exists.
Stylistically, this portrait may be placed between 1476 and 1481, some years after
Ginevras marriage. Without a known and verifiable date, we cannot be certain that this
was not a marriage portrait. According to Woods-Marsden, although, a strong case can

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be made that portraits celebrate the dowry and social honor of merging families, no
documentary evidence confirms that Florentines commissioned likenesses when they
married.5 Given a lack of verifiable documentation, it remains impossible to prove that
the commissioning of this portrait was unusual; ergo, we must look more closely at the
portrait itself.
Considering the purpose of most female portraits, Ginevras lack of jewels in her
rendering seems odd. However, Florences newly-enacted sumptuary laws restricting
appearance and dress might explain the aberration. Previously, Florentine sumptuary laws
targeted only matrons. However, in 1471 and 1472 the laws were extended to include
brides and newlyweds. Although these laws did not concern themselves with portraits to
be displayed in private homes, other portraits of Florentine women at this timeFra
Bartolommeos portrait of Costanza deMedici, for examplealso show a lack of
personal adornment. This change, according to Woods-Marsden illustrates the reflexive
relationship between art and society.6 Ginevras marriage in 1474 would have been after
the advent of the expanded sumptuary laws, which means hers may indeed have been a
wedding portrait.
Not the personal effectsor lack thereofbut the expression on the face of the
sitter herself, gives the greatest pause in the debate as to whether this papers subject was
intended as a wedding portrait. Though most comparable portraits of young women are
somewhat stern in expression, this one goes further. Ginevras almost hostile coldness,
Walker writes, would have made the painting a peculiar marriage portrait.7 The
expression of wedding portraits by other artists tends to be rather stoic, effectively
dehumanizing the sitter. In addition, the conventional profile position distances the

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paintings subject from the viewer, making her remote and untouchable. This distance is
suitable for women who were little more than the property of their husbands, not even
allowed to approach a window lest they be seen.8 These women are beautiful but passive
possessions of male heads of households, inert mannequins for the display of family
wealth.9 Ginevra, however, is infused with personality. She looks directly at the viewer,
which ascribes to her an amount of independence. In addition, her expression is full of
stern melancholy, hardly appropriate for a demure merchants wife.
Conversely, one wonders how much the subjects look depended on Da Vincis
artistic interpretation. His renderings of Cecilia Gallerini and Mona Lisa characterize his
ability to create powerfully-expressive portraits of women. Both sitters are portrayed with
highly-individualized expressions. It is entirely possible that Da Vinci articulated his idea
of artistic truth by creating a melancholy demeanor for the woman who sat for him
without reference to the purpose of the finished painting. Moreover, the concept of
depicting the personality and emotions of the sitter, as well as her features, was wholly
new to Renaissance Italy. Consequently, it seems unlikely that the commissioner would
have requested a particular emotion be portrayed in the painting.10
In Ginevra deBenci: by Leonardo da Vinci, John Walker suggests that Ginevras
melancholy expression is due to an unhappy love affair. Her suitor, a Venetian
ambassador called Bernardo Bembo, first arrived in Florence in 1475, a year after
Ginevras marriage. Two poets, Cristoforo Landino and Alessandro Braccessi, whom
Bembo supported as patron, recorded the affair. However it is impracticable to discern
the truth in their writings, especially considering their patronage. Verification by another
source remains difficult as little is known of the affair beyond the poetic record.

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According to poems by Lorenzo deMedici, Ginevra went to live in the country
some time after 1478 in order to escape from the sin of the city. Walker suggests that she
fled the city, where her lover and temptation lived, in order to lead a pious existence. He
also suggests that the portrait was commissioned for Bembo to bring with him to Venice.
This offers a viable explanation for her melancholy expression: as a comfort to himself,
Bembo wished to immortalize his mistress as pining after him. A viewer could read the
branches of laurel and palm encircling a sprig of juniper (ginepre, in Italian) as evidence
of this affection. Clearly, this is a play on the name Ginevra. It also mirrors Bernardos
personal device found in other artworks he commissioned. Garrard admits that this
interpretation is useful for moving the work out of the category of the conventional
marriage portrait and for permitting a stylistically more plausible dating, between 1476
and 1481 than the year of her marriage. Garrard continues, however, the new theories
have problems too.11 While there is no compelling evidence that Walker is wrong about
the portrait and the affair, neither is there compelling evidence that he is right. As
romantic as his conjectures are, they remain purely conjecture.
Leonardos portrait of Ginevra deBenci is a beautiful, compelling, and
revolutionary portrayal of a cultured, wealthy woman of the Florentine Renaissance.
While one might infer a vast deal about the art, society, and culture of the time from
placing this painting in the available context, of Ginevras personality and what led to the
creation of this work, almost nothing is known. Lacking new and concrete information,
settling the debate as to who commissioned this piece and why remains as indeterminable
as Ginevras own expression.

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Appendix
Figure A.1. Ginevra deBenci, by Leonardo Da Vinci, from the front.

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Figure A.2. Back of the painting.

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Notes
1. Walker, Ginevra debenci, 1-2.
2. Garrard, Female Portraits, 63. See Appendix A2 to view the inscription.
3. Ibid.
4. Woods-Marsden, Virtue & Beauty, 64-65.
5. Ibid., 65.
6. Ibid., 73.
7. Walker, Ginevra debenci, 18.
8. Woods-Marsden, Virtue & Beauty, 70-71.
9. Garrard, Female Portraits, 60.
10. Proof of this, of course, would rely on an examination of commission
contracts of the period, if any exist.
11. Garrard, Female Portraits, 61-62.

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Bibliography
Garrard, Mary D. "Leonardo Da Vinci: Female Portraits, Female Nature." In The
Expanding Discourse: Feminism and Art History, edited by Norma Broude and
Mary D. Garrard, 58-86. New York, NY: IconEditions, 1992.
Walker, John. Ginevra De'benci by Leonardo Da Vinci. Washington, D.C.: National
Gallery of Art : For sale by the Supt. of Docs., U.S. G.P.O., 1967.
Woods-Marsden, Joanna. "Portrait of the Lady, 1430-1520." In Virtue & Beauty:
Leonardo's Ginevra De' Benci and Renaissance Portraits of Women, edited by
David Alan Brown, 63-97. Washington: National Gallery of Art, 2001.