Ginevra de' Benci

Ginevra de' Benci is Leonardo da Vinci's only painting in the Americas and one of the highlights of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. Painted around 1474-1478, it portrays Ginevra de' Benci, a young Florentine noblewoman celebrated for her intelligence and beauty, likely commissioned to mark her marriage or an admirer's devotion. The juniper bush (ginepro in Italian) behind her is a visual pun on her name. The painting was originally larger — the bottom portion showing her hands was cut away, as evidenced by a surviving drawing at Windsor Castle and the truncated wreath on the reverse.

This is one of the earliest European portraits to depict a non-royal sitter in a three-quarter view, breaking with the Florentine profile tradition. Leonardo's innovative use of oil paint allows extraordinary luminosity in the pale flesh tones, while the juniper needles are rendered with almost obsessive botanical precision. The misty landscape behind anticipates his later development of atmospheric perspective.