Leonardo’s Portraits of Beloved Ladies

The three known women from Leonardo’s oeuvre reflect the Renaissance artist’s pioneering techniques.

A detail of Leonardo da Vinci's paintings (L–R) "Ginevra de' Benci, "Lady With an Ermine," and "Mona Lisa." Public Domain

Leonardo da Vinci, the Renaissance polymath, once wrote:

“If the poet says that he can inflame men with love … the painter has the power to do the same … in that he can place in front of the lover the true likeness of one who is beloved, often making him kiss and speak to it.”

There are only four surviving portraits of women painted by Leonardo. The three known women— Ginevra de' Benci, Cecilia Gallerani, and Lisa del Giocondo—were all the subjects of great admiration by their commissioners. Leonardo put a true likeness of the “beloved before the lover” with amazing fidelity.

"Ginevra de' Benci [obverse]," circa 1474–1478, by Leonardo da Vinci. Oil on panel; 15 inches by 14 9/16 inches. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Public Domain

Ginevra de' Benci

Leonardo was 21 when he painted the portrait of the Florentine aristocrat Ginevra de’ Benci. The 16-year old’s portrait was commissioned for her engagement to Luigi Niccolini, whom she married in 1474. Leonardo was an amazing observer of the human condition and demonstrated an uncanny ability to capture all the nuances of a sitter’s personality in his portraits. Ginevra’s painted expression is reserved—fitting for a world of arranged marriages and unrequited loves. The painting reflects the Renaissance cultural phenomenon of platonic love between ladies and gentlemen, often expressed in poetry, song, and artwork.Venetian diplomat Bernardo Bembo was said to be an admirer of hers, and she’s believed to have inspired Alessandro Bracessi’s poem. Scholars believe this poem references Bembo’s departure. As a diplomat and humanist from Venice, he traveled to Florence many times during his career, but didn’t stay. Ginerva and Bembo had a close, platonic relationship. It is believed Bembo commissioned the artwork.

May Ginevra shed tears as you go, Bembo. May she desire long delays and Beseech the Gods above that Every difficulty may hinder your journey. And may she wish that the kindly stars With adverse winds and heavy storms Prevent your departure

The portrait, created in the new medium of oil, shows how Leonardo experimented with the paint’s soft bending quality to render skin tones more luminously. Leonardo pioneered a method called sfumato (smoky) by blending thin layers of diluted color. The resulting brushstrokes are so fine that they can’t even be identified under a microscope.

Leonardo’s genius in capturing Ginevra’s likeness relied on composition as well as brushwork. He placed her in a three-quarter perspective, rather than the time period’s more conventional frontal view. This new naturalism transformed Renaissance painting. Leonardo’s contemporaries—including Michelangelo—regarded his sitter’s pose and painting techniques as revolutionary.

Ginevra is painted against the background of a natural landscape, which was another departure from the early Renaissance’s more commonly employed interior scenes. An overhanging Juniper (a pun on her name: Ginevra) frames the portrait. The Italian word for juniper is “ginepro.”

On the back of the panel, Leonardo painted “Wreath of Laurel, Palm, and Juniper With a Scroll Inscribed Virtutem Forma Decorat (Beauty Adorns Virtue).” The laurel and the palm were the personal emblem of Bernardo Bembo, her not-so-secret admirer. In this case, they were placed on either side of the Juniper.

"Wreath of Laurel, Palm, and Juniper with a Scroll inscribed Virtutem Forma Decorat [reverse]," circa 1474–1478, by Leonardo da Vinci. Tempera on panel; 15 inches by 14 9/16 inches. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Public Domain

Cecilia Gallerani

The sitter in Leonardo’s painting “Lady With an Ermine” was Cecilia Gallerina, mistress of Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan. The portrait was painted around 1489 to 1490 when Leonardo was employed by the duke. Like his painting of Ginerva, Gallerina is posed in his signature three-quarter perspective. The woman’s skin tones—as well as the ermine’s fur—are painted with Leonardo’s delicate and soft rendering sfumato technique.

"The Lady with an Ermine," circa 1489, by Leonardo da Vinci. Oil and tempera on panel; 21 1/2 inches by 15 4/5 inches.
National Museum in Kraków, Poland. Public Domain

The canvas’s dark background was not originally painted by Leonardo. In the 17th century, someone painted over Leonardo’s original, which was predominantly a greyish-blue. Conservators aren’t sure what the background looked like and x-ray imaging has failed to provide anything conclusive. We can conclude that Leonardo’s original palate was more vibrant and has become muted after subsequent retouching.

The painting was brought to Poland sometime around 1800. Prince Adam Czartoryski presented it to his mother, the founder of the Czartoryski Museum. Legend has it that she had the jet-black background added. Izabela Czartoryski, it seems, lacked the sensitivity of modern-day curators. Regarding the ermine, she remarked “If it’s a dog, it’s a very ugly one.” Fortunately, she did not have it painted out.

The ermine may be symbolic of Ludovico Sforza. Awarded the Order of the Ermine in 1488 by the king of Naples, he was known as “the White Ermine.” The ermine may also be a pun on Cecilia’s name Gallerina: Gale means ermine in Greek. Or, perhaps the ermine symbolizes something about the lovers’ relationship. In Renaissance lore, ermines were said to protect pregnant women. In 1491, Cecilia gave birth to a son and shortly had to leave court. She took the painting, which may have been the duke’s farewell gift.

Lisa Gherardini

"Mona Lisa," between 1503–1505, by Leonardo da Vinci. Oil on poplar wood; 30 1/10 inches by 20 2/5 inches. Louvre Museum, France. Public Domain

At the end of his life, Leonardo owned a remarkable portrait of a lady. Her name was Lisa Gherardini. At age 16, she married a silk merchant named Francesco di Bartolomeo di Zanobi del Giocondo. He commissioned Leonardo to paint his wife’s portrait around 1503.

Painted with oil on a poplar wood panel, the canvas appears to have been modified many times by the artist. The portrait is a prime example of Leonardo’s sfumato technique, which may contribute to the painting’s soft-focused mystery. The background, similar to “Ginevra de' Benci,” draws viewers into a Tuscan landscape with aerial perspective. Leonardo was one of the first painters to incorporate this atmospheric technique in his paintings. Today, “La Giocanda,” known in English as the “Mona Lisa,” is the most famous painting worldwide. But that wasn’t always the case.

The painting hung in the Louvre from 1797 until it was stolen in 1911 by an Italian painter. However, Vincenzo Peruggia was a house painter and glass fitter, not an artist. Engaged by the Louvre to fit protective glass over priceless paintings, he wondered at all of the Italian art plundered by Napoleon and set out to repatriate a piece of it.

In a bit of irony, he stole the one piece of Italian art that had legitimately been given to Francis I of France at the end of Leonardo’s life. The theft and subsequent return of the “Mona Lisa” made the painting famous. It’s still the subject of mystery. So many unanswered questions circulate around this painting. If this was a commissioned piece, why didn’t Leonardo deliver it? Why did he continue to work on it? Why, at the end of his life, did he give (or sell) it to the king of France?

It is possible that this painting became the embodiment of the Renaissance ideal of feminine beauty for Leonardo. It could have been a platonic love like that of Dante for Beatrice, the kind seen as inspirational in the “Divine Comedy.” Was Lisa a similar inspiration to Leonardo? We’ll never know for sure, but it makes for a great story.

What arts and culture topics would you like us to cover? Please email ideas or feedback to [email protected]