The Cosmos in “Ginevra de’ Benci’’ by Leonardo da Vinci

Abstract

Leonardo observed the celestial phenomena to study the phenomenon of light and shadow, which was to be used in painting. The object of the research is the painting “Ginevra de’ Benci’’. This work was created in 1474-1478 by Leonardo da Vinci. In the left half of the painting the oval shape detail bordered with faint contour is observed. Trough the Paint X program, we moved this detail to the right part of the painting in the place of a round shadow near the face of Ginevra. According to our interpretation, the bright and oval face of Ginevra de’ Benci is a metaphorical image of the moon. The dark background around it is a cosmos with numerous stars. Below the displaced detail is a quarter of the sphere that resembles the Earth’s surface and is associated with our planet. The displaced detail represents the oval and is associated with the moon. The layout of the dark spots on the sphere is compared to the relief of the moon, which is described on a modern photo. Finally we can think that the painting describes the earth, the moon, the cosmos, and the stars.