Ginevra de' Benci (1474-78) - Ginevra de' Benci was a well-known young Florentine woman, and this painting was done probably for her engagement�or marriage.� The 'juniper'�bush that surrounds Ginevra's head and fills much of the background, serves more than mere decorative purposes. In�Renaissance Italy, the juniper was regarded as a symbol of female virtue.�������� *Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (1452�1519) was Italian painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. He gained notoriety for his notebooks, in which he produced sketches and notes on a variety of topics, including anatomy, astronomy, botany, painting, and palaeontology, even though his popularity primarily stemmed from his accomplishments as a painter. Only his younger contemporary, Michelangelo, has made a greater impact to following generations of painters than Leonardo, who is widely recognised as a genius and the embodiment of the Renaissance humanist ideal.�