In order to be considered beautiful (and fashionable), an early modern woman must also be virtuous.ĭuring the Renaissance, creating textiles was extremely expensive and time-consuming, so clothing was often recycled. However, Renaissance beauty was not skin deep. Renaissance women were expected to use lavish clothing, jewelry, accessories, and cosmetics to adhere to contemporary beauty standards. However, the painted words “Beauty adorns virtue” reverberate across nearly all portraits of women from the period. A banner of trompe-l’oeil paper intertwines all three plants, displaying a Latin motto: “VIRTVTEM FORMA DECORAT,” or “Beauty adorns virtue (Brown, 64).” Ginevra de’Benci is unique within Renaissance female portraiture due to its focus on the sitter’s individuality. Both symbolic branches encircle a sprig of juniper, a pun on the sitter’s given name. 1b) proclaims Ginevra’s literary intellect with a laurel leaf, which intersects with a palm frond (a typical attribute carried by martyred saints) to suggest her strong moral character. The sitter wears a brown kirtle laced with blue ribbon, and a halo of tight ringlets surrounds her face.

The two sides blend together, creating a full picture of Ginevra de’Benci. The front panel displays the aristocrat’s face, while the back uses flora to represent her personality. Around 1474-8 Leonardo da Vinci painted his iconic portrait of the Florentine noblewoman Ginevra de’Benci (Fig.

Renaissance snood