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Ginevra's Story [VHS]

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Ginevra's story takes us back 500 years to become acquainted with the three women whose portraits Leonardo painted. Ginevra di Benci was the first, Cecilia Gallerani(Lady with an Ermine) the second, and Lisa Gherardini-del Giocondo(Mona Lisa) the last.

The paintings were completed 15 years apart, spanning Leonardo's painting career, and documenting his maturation as an artist and as an individual. Ginevra was painted at the time of her marriage at 16. She was well known as a talented poetess. Her platonic lover, Bernardo Benbo, whose motto "Virtue and Honor" is painted on the back side of the painting, may have commissioned the portrait, as he also commissioned 10 poems to be written for her. She suffered from ill health and she was not able to have children, which may account for her somewhat melancholic expression.

The events in the life of the painting are just as interesting: defaced at some point, the lower portion including Ginevra's hands were removed, stored in a wine cellar through WWII for safe keeping and finally purchased by The National Gallery in Washington for 3 million dollars where it was eventually cleaned.

The video includes narration by Meryl Streep, some valuable input from art historians about the painting and about Leonardo, a computer reconstruction of a before and after for each portrait, and much more. It will leave you wanting to know more about Ginevra and her famous counterparts.