Ginevra de' Benci [obverse]
c. 1474/1478
![Ginevra de' Benci [obverse] by Leonardo da Vinci](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.artheonmuseum.org%2Fnga%2Fthumb%2Fginevra-de-benci-obverse-nga-50724.webp&w=3840&q=75)
Medium
oil on panel
Dimensions
overall (original panel only): 38.1 x 37 cm (15 x 14 9/16 in.) overall (thickness of original panel): 1.1 cm (7/16 in.) overall (with addition at bottom edge): 42.7 x 37 cm (16 13/16 x 14 9/16 in.) overall (thickness of addition at bottom edge): 1.9 cm (3/4 in.) framed: 59.7 x 57.8 x 3.8 cm (23 1/2 x 22 3/4 x 1 1/2 in.)
Classification
Painting
Department
CIS-R
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund
Accession Number
1967.6.1.a
Art Historical Context
Leonardo da Vinci’s “Ginevra de’ Benci,” painted in oil on panel around 1474–1478, represents an early masterpiece from the Italian Renaissance. Created when the artist was still in his twenties, the work demonstrates his emerging mastery of portraiture and willingness to experiment with a medium then gaining favor in Florence. The smooth, luminous surface of oil paint allowed for delicate transitions between light and shadow, giving the figure a lifelike presence within the painting’s modest 38-by-37-centimeter format. Housed today at the National Gallery of Art thanks to the Ailsa Mellon Br...
About the Artist
Leonardo da Vinci · 1452–1519
Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) stands as the quintessential Renaissance polymath, whose genius spanned painting, sculpture, architecture, science, mathematics, engineering, anatomy, geology, cartography, botany, and writing. Born in Vinci, Italy, as the illegitimate son of a notary, Leonardo received limited formal education but demonstrated extraordinary artistic talent from an early age. His appr...