Ginevra de Benci by Leonardo da Vinci Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ginevra de Benci by Leonardo da Vinci - Essay Example The medium used for painting the piece is oil on wood measuring 42.7 by 37 cm (National Gallery of Art, 2015). The female portrait is Ginevra de’ Benci, a 17 years old who during her era is an intellectual. The background of the painting depicts the ‘leonardesque’ style of trees, mountains, and hazy sky with a dreamlike atmosphere. The artist did the effect of hazy sky through an overlay of oil glazes, hence creating a thin curtain of mist. On the portrait’s reverse side, is a design of a chaplet palm and laurel, which encircles a juniper spring with an inscription of Beauty Adorns Virtue in English but it is in Latin, Virtutem Forma Decorat (National Gallery of Art (2015). The juniper could have meant chastity while the palm represented moral virtue of Ginevra. The portrait depicts a female figure with a marble-like skin while the hair is styled in ringlets putting a face that portrays a sulky and proud facial expression. This could be illustrating that Gi nevra might not have been happy with the upcoming marriage. The portrait has been argued by historians to have been commissioned as an engagement portrait for celebrating her marriage. According to National Gallery of Art, it was commissioned by Bembo, a friend of Ginevra, for celebrating the occasion of her marriage as well as a substitute for the object of his admiration and esteem (2015). Human values are depicted in the painting in the approaching marriage of Ginevra to Niccolini. Human values are standards, principles.