GINEVRA DE' BENCI
I often find myself puzzled by this portrait. Not only because I am a huge Leonardo da Vinci fan - it's the lacing of her dress. One thing is that I've stumbled across this version twice - showing more of the lacing and dress than 99% of the other prints I've seen. There is a rather obvious fold (and also colour difference?) viewable where it's ( Read more... )
yes, i think you are right that it all depends on a recent restoration, unfolding a previous wrapped edge. old photos of paintings tend to circulate quite a lot, so it could well be that there is still photos around from before the restoration in question. have you managed to check the publishing dates of the different views of the painting? maybe you should just write to the painting conservator or curator at the NGA in washington and ask them about the restoration. my previous expreiences with the conservators have been very pleasant, they are all very helpful!
also, if this indeed is an recent addition to the painting, i assume it would appear a very convenient inpainting solution to make for any conservator without insights in period fashion. one always tries to not add anything that there is no evidence for, but at the same time integrate the inpainted area. so just following the lacing and edges until they meet would to me seem an easy way out of a delicate situation... so maybe we should not trust the bottom half of the painting for documentation purposes?
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