LEONARDO DA VINCI 1452-1519

Infrared reflectogram Portrait of Ginevra de’ Benci by Leonardo da Vinci Distemper (?) and oil on panel. About 1475–1476 National Gallery of Art, Washington The young woman in this portrait is standing in front of a juniper tree (ginepro in Italian) – a reference to her name, Ginevra de’ Benci.The work was commissioned in 1475 by Bernardo Bembo, the Venetian ambassador to Florence. Bembo and Ginevra had a platonic love affair inspired by Petrarch’s love poetry, which was greatly in vogue in the circle of Lorenzo de’ Medici, ruler of the Florentine Republic at that time.The infrared reflectogram reveals pounce markings around the contours of the face, indicating that Leonardo used the spolvero technique to transfer a drawing from paper to panel. His rough draft of the juniper foliage, smudged by fingertip, can also be seen. © National Gallery of Art 0 27