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A portrait of a young Florentine woman set against a juniper bush, a pun on her name, ginepro. It is the only painting by Leonardo in the Americas.
Ginevra de' Benci came from a rich Florentine banking family and was admired for her learning and her poetry. The portrait was probably made around the time of her marriage in 1474, or for the Venetian diplomat Bernardo Bembo, whose emblem appears on the back.
The reverse shows a juniper sprig framed by laurel and palm, with the motto VIRTUTEM FORMA DECORAT, beauty adorns virtue. The panel was cut down at the bottom, and her hands are lost. A drawing of hands at Windsor may be connected with the original design.
The juniper behind her is dark and spiky; her face is pale and still. Leonardo blurred some of the paint with his fingers, and his fingerprints can still be found in the surface.
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by Mei Lin 