At Large  September 8, 2025  Danielle Vander Horst

The Theories Behind Da Vinci’s “Ginevra de’ Benci”

Ailsa Mellon Brue Fund, National Gallery of Art

Ginevra de’ Benci [obverse]. 1474/1478. Leonardo da Vinci. Oil on Panel. 

Leonardo da Vinci and his works have attained a level of global notoriety unparalleled by many other artists. His paintings, inventions, drawings, and codices are coveted by art and history institutions as testaments to his genius and technical prowess. It is perhaps not surprising then that relatively few of his works have circulated to collections beyond Europe. In fact, only one painting soundly attributed to da Vinci is currently held in a permanent collection by a North American institution. It is Ginevra de’ Benci at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.

National Gallery of Art

The luggage company American Tourister designed the custom suitcase that brought Ginevra to the US from Europe in 1967.   

Born around 1457 in Florence, Ginevra was the daughter of the prominent and well-connected Benci family. With a level of wealth second only to the illustrious Medicis, the Bencis amassed a vast collection of literature, entertained and hosted renowned intellectuals and scholars, and acted as patrons to the flourishing Florentine art scene. As such, the Benci children, including Ginevra, were afforded top-rate educations and moved in many influential circles.

In 1474, at the age of 16, Ginevra’s marriage was arranged to Luigi de Bernardo Niccolini– a man 15 years older than her, whom she did not love. It is well attested that Ginevra did not like Luigi. They would spend most of their marriage childless and apart, with Ginevra engaging in multiple courtly affairs throughout her adult life through exchanged letters with paramours and admirers alike. According to one such admirer, Lorenzo de Medici, Ginevra would even later depart the city of Florence– dramatically, by cover of night– to reside at the convent of Le Murate for the remainder of her life.

Before her affairs and her flight from Florence, however, is the mystery of her portrait. 

There is no doubt, stylistically and historically, that da Vinci is the artist. Da Vinci is known to have benefitted from the Benci family’s patronage, and the young artist was a friend to Ginevra’s brother, Giovanni. Though, exactly when and why the portrait was commissioned has continued to be a topic of debate amongst art historians. 

One theory argues the portrait was commissioned by the Benci family around 1474 to commemorate Ginevra’s engagement. Scholars note that since Ginevra is sitting facing right, she would only have been engaged at the time of the painting’s creation as newlywed portraits typically placed the groom on the left looking right and the bride on the right looking left. Ginevra’s general appearance also points more towards an earlier creation with her soft, round features and glowing, almost pearlescent skin. 

National Gallery of Art

A reconstruction of what the full Ginevra de’ Benci portrait may have once looked like.

The painting’s intriguing reverse is what fuels the other prevailing theories. Against a dark, speckle-flecked background is a painted laurel and palm wreath with a juniper spring in the middle. A scroll with the words Virtutem Forma Decorat, “Beauty Adorns Virtue,” wraps around all three. While the juniper sprig both here and behind Ginevra on the obverse are seen representative of the sitter (a play on her name, with ginepro being the Italian for juniper), the wreath has been seen indicative of Bernardo Bembo, the Venetian ambassador to Florence, having a hand in the creation of the painting as the two plants comprise his family crest.

Ailsa Mellon Brue Fund, National Gallery of Art

Wreath of Laurel, Palm, and Juniper with a Scroll Inscribed Virtutam Forma Decorat [reverse]. 1474/1478. Oil on Panel. 

Ginevra and Bernardo had a longstanding platonic affair, and they exchanged many letters expressing their mutual admiration. While the wreath could very well have been a happy coincidence of emblematic choice— both being quite common symbols in Renaissance Italy– infrared reflectography revealed that under the current scroll inscription lies another: Virtus et Honor, “Virtue and Honor,” the Bembo family motto. 

As such, two other main theories have been suggested regarding the painting’s creation. One argues that the painting was entirely commissioned by Bernardo sometime closer to 1478 as a token of his affection. Another argues for two or three separate moments of creation: one for the obverse to commemorate Ginevra’s engagement, another to create the reverse to commemorate her and Bernardo’s relationship, and another still when Ginevra has the original scroll inscription repainted with its current motto to be more personally reflective

The National Gallery’s official description favors a theory of multiple creation moments, and many da Vinci scholars have argued for an earlier creation of at least the obverse based on the painting’s style. For one, Ginevra’s quiet solemnity and serious expression are quite contrary to the almost coy smile of the Mona Lisa (1503-1519) and more in line with da Vinci’s other more soundly dated earlier works. 

Furthermore, there is also a high level of innovation at work in this portrait that would make sense for a young da Vinci to be exploring or keen to demonstrate early in his career. Ginevra de Benci is one of the earliest three-quarter profile portraits of a woman. Prior to this, Renaissance women’s likenesses were only ever captured in profile. Ginevra is also shown in a natural landscape, rather than depicted indoors as was standard for the time.

National Gallery of Art

A detail of the Ginevra de’ Benci portrait reverse showcasing red wax with the Liechtenstein royal seal. 

Despite what we have managed to glean from the painting and Ginevra’s history, much more remains in the dark. Ginevra is noted by her contemporaries as having been an accomplished poet and intellectual. Though, sadly, not one of her own works has survived beyond a single, stirring line: “I ask your forgiveness / and I am a mountain tiger”. Historical records disclose that Ginevra and Luigi never had children, but nothing much more beyond that, other than her death around 1520 in her early 60s. 

Even the painting itself is incomplete, having been cut down at some point, likely due to damage. Based on Ginevra’s posture and sketches by da Vinci, it is thought the full image displayed Ginevra’s hands cradled at her waist, possibly holding a small item such as flowers or a pen. The painting is also severely lacking in historical records, more or less disappearing from the time of its creation up until 1712 when it is noted that Prince Johann Adam Andres I of Liechtenstein purchased it. 

Ginevra remained within the ‘collection of the princes of Liechtenstein’ until 1967 when the royal family deemed it necessary to sell some of their art holdings in order to rebuild the fortunes lost during World War II. After garnering the unbelievable price of $5,000,000– the highest price ever paid for an artwork at the time– Ginevra made her way in a custom built, climate-monitoring suitcase to the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. where she has been on display, mesmerizing and confounding visitors ever since.

About the Author

Danielle Vander Horst

Dani is a freelance artist, writer, and a trained archaeologist. Her research specialty focuses on religion in the Roman Northwest, but her educational background encompasses more broadly Greek and Roman art, architecture, materiality, and history. She holds multiple degrees in Classics and Archaeology from the University of Rochester, Cornell University, and Duke University, and she is currently completing a PhD in History of Art & Archaeology at Cornell University.

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