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"Lack of convention decorative elements" which Leonardo used to guide the viewers perception. The "poetic homage" supports the idealism of that female and suggests Leonardo's perception that "denies the specific peculiarities of the physical characteristics of an individual and of the detail of clothing".

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Not looking directly at the audience as Renaissance women did not directly confront others.

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Historians generally consider the portrait was commissioned to celebrate the occasion of her marriage on January 15th, 1474 to Luigi Niccolini. She was seventeen; he was twice her age. Marriage portraits were a common practice at the time and most Florentine portraits of women were painted for just this reason. 

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Historians generally consider the portrait was commissioned to celebrate the occasion of her marriage on January 15th, 1474 to Luigi Niccolini. She was seventeen; he was twice her age. Marriage portraits were a common practice at the time and most Florentine portraits of women were painted for just this reason. 

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| Leonardo's sensibility shows us her beautiful, melancholic, alabaster face framed by little cascades of curly, glossy hair. Her eyelids are heavy, her gaze abstracted, her beautiful eyes are looking into a distance but they do not seem to see. She seems to be listening to the sounds of her thoughts. The reason of her melancholy is unknown, but it is possible that beneath it the real heart that gets broken is hidden. Sadness has rarely been represented in portraiture before the seventieth century, and even then the tragic view of life was usually conveyed by portraits of men, not of woman
In the background on the right you can see the mountains, trees, water, a small town, and the hazy sky, which are typical for Leonardo da Vinci’s style.
Laurel and palm on the back of the painting symbolises the intelligence and moral values of the special lady.

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In his drawings, Leonardo several times compares curls of hair to swirling water. The ringlets that frame Ginevra's face resemble cascading whirlpools. These curls are so like Leonardo's rendering both of hair in his other paintings and of water in his drawings as to be a virtual signature. Lastly there are Leonardo's colored reflections discussed at length in his "Treatise on painting". In Ginerva's portrait such reflected colors reverberate through the painting and course the flesh to glow as if, like the moon, it reflected some hidden radiance.

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With the poetic component of portraiture becoming more popular (or expecting poets to write about portraits), it was more likely for the rise of secular portraiture to take place, especially in northern Europe after the Reformation. That is how commissions for religious portraits disappeared and were substituted by secular ones. Gradually, and for the sake of the aesthetic component, the secularity of portraits helped the expansion of portraiture beyond rulers and diplomats.

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trend in poetry encouraged depicting women independent from their husbands since it focused more on the beauty and the virtue of women. The interest in individuals’ psychology and physiology accompanied the rise of independent female portraits.

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Unlike Leonardo's other portraits of women, this lady looks sulky, unforgiving and haughty; this is emphasised by the slightly smaller cast of one eye, making her look withdrawn. Her left eye seems to gaze directly at us while the right looks beyond to some invisible point. Like other Florentine women of the period Ginevra has shaved off her eyebrows (this is also obvious in the Mona Lisa). Maybe her expression indicates she was not entirely happy regarding her forthcoming marriage. In later life she was to go into self-inflicted exile in an attempt to recover from a severe illness; she was also tormented by an ill-fated love affair. 

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Unlike Leonardo's other portraits of women, this lady looks sulky, unforgiving and haughty; this is emphasised by the slightly smaller cast of one eye, making her look withdrawn. Her left eye seems to gaze directly at us while the right looks beyond to some invisible point. Like other Florentine women of the period Ginevra has shaved off her eyebrows (this is also obvious in the Mona Lisa). Maybe her expression indicates she was not entirely happy regarding her forthcoming marriage. In later life she was to go into self-inflicted exile in an attempt to recover from a severe illness; she was also tormented by an ill-fated love affair. 

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First psychological paintings created, and one of the first 3/4 portraits.

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First psychological paintings created, and one of the first 3/4 portraits.

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On the reverse side of the portrait is a design of a wreath palm and laurel encircling a juniper sprig with an inscription in Latin “Virtutem Forma Decorat” meaning “Beauty Adorns Virtue” in English. The juniper may either mean chastity or it may be some kind of a clever mention since the Italian name of juniper is Ginevra.

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Her lack of obvious finery, however, is somewhat surprising. Jewels, luxurious brocades, and elaborate dresses were part of dowry exchanges and displayed a family’s wealth. https://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/Collection/art-object-page.50724.html

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Leonardo stated in the famous aphorism, “The eye is said to be the window of the soul.” This association of eyes and soul can be seen in the portrait of Ginevra de’Benci, in Leonardo’s conveying the “movement of the soul” which he learned in Milan from Antonello da Messina’s portraits produced at the Sforza.

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The heraldic motif on the painted porphyry reverse side of the portrait, with the motto "Beauty adorns Virtue," praises her, and juniper plants symbolize chastity, considered an appropriate choice for a marriage portrait. The juniper bush, ginepro in Italian, is also a pun on her name.

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The heraldic motif on the painted porphyry reverse side of the portrait, with the motto "Beauty adorns Virtue," praises her, and juniper plants symbolize chastity, considered an appropriate choice for a marriage portrait. The juniper bush, ginepro in Italian, is also a pun on her name.

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The halo-like juniper heightens her prickly aristocratic demeanor. Her genteel pallor refers to her sickly constittuion

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The halo-like juniper heightens her prickly aristocratic demeanor. Her genteel pallor refers to her sickly constittuion

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from the book

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On the reverse side of the portrait is a design of a wreath palm and laurel encircling a juniper sprig with an inscription in Latin “Virtutem Forma Decorat” meaning “Beauty Adorns Virtue” in English. The juniper may either mean chastity or it may be some kind of a clever mention since the Italian name of juniper is Ginevra.

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Another likelihood reflects a cultural phenomenon of the Italian Renaissance period—platonic love affairs between well-mannered gentlemen and ladies. Such affairs, often conducted from afar, focused on effusive literary expressions that displayed the courtier’s and lady’s sophistication.

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She had many admirers, among which was Lorenzo de Medici.

Her most significant admirer was Bernardo Bembo - a Venetian ambassador to Florence, who may have commissioned this painting - personal symbols at the reverse side of painting.

He may have intended this as a gift to her. They had a platonic affair - a poetically inspired platonic relationship.

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This was in keeping with the growing role of art in the Renaissance as a form of visual poetry—an allegorical conversation piece, in other words. It reflects the urgent desire of many Renaissance artists to be recognized as creative masters and visionary poets, rather than mere artisans. Many Renaissance paintings are really intellectual puzzles that invite the beholder to demonstrate his humanistic pedigree and cultural sophistication.http://themonalisamyth.com/who-is-ginevra-de-benci/

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young women at the time were expected to possess modesty. A girls beauty = a sign of goodness. Virtue was prized and guarded

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-her size is large
-halo of prickle as she is prickly
-blank stare and disinterested. Dead eyes
-super realistic and human
-she is physically youthful (pure skin and smooth completion)
YET! she also has a more mature demeanour and countenance due to her stare and depression.
- frown or just resting face
-very plain

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-pale (affluent)
-blue (expensive
-black (serious and sombre, formal/prestigious)

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-above lighting
-harsh light (shadow her face/contour)
-unflattering
-chiaroscuro
-sfumato in clothes as well as skin

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-focal point is face (moon)
-the fact that her face is so white, attracts attention and stands out as it contrasts background. Make it more 3D.
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Married at 16 - but was an educated woman, which was uncommon at the time.

- She was known as a poet, and was a  conversationalist

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One possibility is that the commission was occasioned by her betrothal. Ginevra married Luigi Niccolini in 1474. Another likelihood reflects a cultural phenomenon of the Italian Renaissance period—platonic love affairs between well-mannered gentlemen and ladies. Such affairs, often conducted from afar, focused on effusive literary expressions that displayed the courtier’s and lady’s sophistication. https://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/Collection/highlights/highlight50724.html

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Born in 1452, Leonardo da Vinci grew up in a small town in the territory of Florence. His schooling and education was very basic. By the time he was 14, Leonardo had his first apprenticeship in the workshop of a painter, where he learned art skills, including painting and drawing. Leonardo’s painting of Ginevra de’ Benci was painted shortly after her wedding to Luigi di Bernardo Niccolini in 1474. Ginevra de’ Benci was an aristocrat from 15th-century Florence, admired for her intelligence by Florentine contemporaries. The portrait is one of the highlights of the National Gallery of Art, and is admired for its portrayal of Ginevra’s personality. Ginevra is beautiful but harsh; she has no hint of a smile and her gaze, though, seems indifferent to the viewer. Leonardo also painted many members of the Benci family because he was a good friend of Ginevra’s brother.https://dohertymgv.wordpress.com/2013/02/14/ginevra-debenci/

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The inclusion of hands was a revolutionary subject matter during the Renaissance.

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Bust of a Young Woman. (1480s)

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She was the daughter of a wealthy Florentine banking family

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- aerial perspective
-takes up most of the painting
-enclosed (close up)