Ginevra de benci biography of albert
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He had spent time abroad whilst working as a diplomat and would have discovered alternative artistic approaches whilst there. “Prior to that, women were only depicted in profile, so Leonardo was definitely aware of this innovation,” Straussman-Pflanzer says. It was during this period that Ginevra was born. This was done by the same man who did these drawings" (Ginevra's Story, 1999 documentary).
The patron
The purchase was financed by the Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund.
She’d been brought up with a sophisticated humanist education befitting the Renaissance, which offered new opportunities for women to express themselves and participate in society.
Alongside her adoring Bembo, Ginevra cultivated a circle of scholarly male admirers who found her fascinating and coveted her company.
The use of oils themselves had come from the likes of Van Eyck, and so this direction of influence was nothing new, with Italians previously preferring tempera and fresco art instead.
Size and Medium
The portrait was produced using a combination of oil and tempera on poplar. After days of examination, he had no doubts about its authenticity.
Therefore, juniper is understood to symbolize Ginevra.
Religious significance
Due to its evergreen characteristics, juniper is considered worldwide as a symbol of the multi-faceted life of nature: the blossoming of beauty, love and offspring, aging and finally death. The inscription on the seal refers to this.
First proof of ownership
Even though the work can be dated by the seal to before 1733, the first written mention of it does not occur until 1780, when it is mentioned in the official catalog of the Liechtenstein Collection, but attributed to the workshop of Lucas Cranach († 1553).
This contest over the ranking of the arts, known as the Paragone, was a centuries-old theme that Leonardo da Vinci grappled with throughout his life. The elements of this unnamed piece feature a laurel branch, a palm branch as well as a written text painted onto a curled scroll. Many of these drawings would be passed around art schools as a method of study, and their fragile nature meant most would not last long.
As he progressed, a number of other secular portraits would appear, such as his portrait of Antonio Boltraffio from 1485 and also Lady with an Ermine from 1489/1490.
Aside from a move towards a greater breadth of content within his paintings, Da Vinci also started to display a greater individuality having previously worked closely with the principles of the circle of Verrocchio.
They are designed exactly the way Leonardo designed the waterfalls. Leonardo’s Study of a Woman’s Hands, housed at the Royal Collection Trust in England, is widely theorized to be a preparatory sketch for Ginevra’s likeness. Bernardo left Florence after a year and a half in April 1476 and returned again in July 1478 for two years, leaving the city for good in May 1480.
The ostensibly platonic relationship between the two was probably the cause of gossip, according to a contemporary poem by Florentine Cristoforo Landino.
Ginevra's retreat
In a tax return from 1480, Ginevra's husband speaks of the high costs caused by a prolonged illness of his wife.
The artist would actually practice his handling of the human body throughout his lifetime, and so although we don't have specific study drawings for this portrait, many others would have helped him to prepare for this piece.
Those viewing the piece up close will also notice the detail on trees across the background, as well as a number of buildings in the far distance to the right hand side.
It was also a time when portraiture was gaining prominence as a genre, especially among elite women, who were increasingly commemorated in painted likenesses to mark marriage, virtue, or literary achievement.
Ginevra de’ Benci (c. He was active in the Republic of Florence from January 1475.