Ginevra de' Benci (Leonardo da Vinci)

Portrait of Ginevra de' Benci was painted by Leonardo da Vinci around 1474-1476. It is oil on wood. It is now owned by National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC and is currently the only painting by Leonardo in the Americas. A lady of the aristocratic class in 15th century Florence, Ginevra de' Benci was admired for her intelligence by Florentine contemporaries. She is the subject of one of only about 17 existing paintings attributed to Leonardo da Vinci. Unlike Leonardo's other portraits of women, this lady looks sulky, unforgiving, and haughty; this is emphasized by the slightly smaller cast of one eye, making her look withdrawn.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 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.