Renaissance Blog

This is an Italian Renaissance portrait of Ginevra de’ Benci, painted by Leonardo da Vinci. In this piece, she is sitting in front of a tree that people seem to think is a Juniper tree. She has a blank expression on her face, and the colors in this portrait are darker dull shades. With that though, the viewer of this art piece still experiences awe, while looking at it. The viewer can look at this painting and it is almost as though she is looking back. I do not know if I, myself, would own a copy of this painting. It has almost a spooky, ghostly feeling to it that I don’t think I'd want in my house. 

The backstory to this piece is that Ginevra de’ Benci, was a sixteen year old from a wealthy family. She was also known as a poet and learned conversationalist. It is thought that Leonardo painted the portrait to commemorate Ginevra's marriage to Luigi di Bernardo Niccolini. I don't think I relate to this back story, but I do find it interesting how praised Benci seemed to be by her many fans who were known to send her poems. 


Source: “Ginevra De' Benci.” Leonardo Da Vinci, Ginevra De' Benci, c. 1474/1478, www.nga.gov/collection/highlights/da-vinci-ginevra-de-benci.html. 


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