Feminae: Medieval Women and Gender Index
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Title:
Princess Ginevra d'Este
Creator:
Pisanello (Antonio di Puccio Pisano), painter
Description:
The princess is depicted in profile against a juniper bush (her namesake)and also wears a sprig of juniper at her shoulder. The blazon of the House of Este, a 3-handled jug, is embroidered on her sleeve. The juniper bush is filled with pinks and columbines, which represented fertility and death, respectively, and the butterflies symbolize the soul. References to death and the beauty of the soul are disquietingly prophetic; Ginevra was believed to have been murdered by her husband Sigismondo Malatesta in 1440. Portraits in which the female sitter displayed her material wealth were typically commissioned at the time of her wedding or as a commemoration of the event. Rendering the female sitter in profile drew from the majesty of classical portraiture but also served an ideological purpose: it averted the woman's gaze from her (likely male) viewer, thus encoding a sense of voyeurism in the work. Ginevra married Sigismondo in 1434.
Source:
WikiMedia Commons
Rights:
Public domain
Subject
(See Also)
:
Flowers
Ginevra d'Este, Wife of Sigismondo Malatesta, Lord of Rimini
Nuptial Imagery
Profile Portraits
Geographic Area:
Italy
Century:
15
Date:
ca. 1434
Related Work:
The reverse side of the panel presents an emblem of a sprig of juniper with laurel and palm branches. Beneath is the motto "VIRTVTEM FORMA DECORAT"[Beauty adorns virtue]:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Leonardo_da_Vinci_-_Reverse_side_of_the_portrait_of_Ginevra_de%27_Benci_-_WGA12683.jpg
Current Location:
Paris, Musée du Louvre
Original Location:
Artistic Type (Category):
Digital images; Paintings
Artistic Type (Material/Technique):
Panel paintings; Tempera
Donor:
Height/Width/Length(cm):
43cm/30cm/
Inscription:
Related Resources: