National Gallery of Art

Release Date: August 20, 2001

Gifts Inspired by "Virtue and Beauty" Available in the Gallery Shops September 30 - January 6, 2002

Washington, DC -- This fall the Gallery Shops will offer a large selection of books, reproductions, gifts, and accessories related to the exhibition Virtue and Beauty: Leonardo's "Ginevra de' Benci" and Renaissance Portraits of Women, on view in the West Building, 30 September 2001, through 6 January 2002. These items include silk scarves and jewelry inspired by Leonardo da Vinci's portrait of Ginevra de' Benci (c. 1474-1478), note cards featuring portraits by Sandro Botticelli and Domenico Ghirlandaio, various framed reproductions, posters, and desk accessories. The exhibition catalogue, as well as an assortment of scholarly titles supporting the exhibition, will also be available. The exhibition is made possible by generous support from Airbus.

Exhibition Catalogue and Related Books
The 240-page exhibition catalogue, published by the National Gallery of Art, Washington, in association with Princeton University Press, will be available for $55.00 (hardcover) and $35.00 (softcover). The catalogue is edited and introduced by National Gallery curator of Italian Renaissance paintings David Alan Brown, and contains essays by Renaissance experts such as Dale Kent, Joanna Woods-Marsden, Mary Westerman Bulgarella, Roberta Orsi Landini, and Victoria Kirkham. Following the essays are more than 172 color illustrations, including 96 full color plates, and 76 halftones. Support for the catalogue was provided by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation. A selection of books related to the exhibition, including David Alan Brown's critically acclaimed Leonardo da Vinci: Origins of a Genius, will also be available.

Gifts and Accessories
Rogier van der Weyden's,Portrait of a Lady (c. 1460) will be featured in both an assortment of note cards and desk accessories. The "Renaissance Women" portfolio notecard set (3 cards of 4 different images) includes Portrait of a Lady with Ginevra de' Benci (obverse) by Leonardo da Vinci; Giovanna degli Albizzi Tornabuoni (c.1488/1490) by Domenico Ghirlandaio; and Sandro Botticelli's Young Woman (Simonetta Vespucci?) in Mythological Guise (c. 1480/1485).

Leonardo's Ginevra de' Benci, the centerpiece of the exhibition, is captured beautifully on both jewelry and scarf. An elegant silk twill scarf featuring the reverse side of this portrait -- a wreath of laurel and palm branches encircling a juniper sprig depicted against a background of simulated textured rock -- will be available in black. The jewelry also draws inspiration from this painting. Matching bangles and rings are engraved with the phrase Virtutem Forma Decorat, meaning "Beauty adorns Virtue" -- this Latin inscription can be found on a scroll entwined around the plants on the reverse of Ginevra de' Benci. Additional bangles and rings bearing the inscription Felices Ter Et Amplivs meaning "Thrice Happy and More," from Jacometto Veneziano's Portrait of a Man (c. 1480-1485) will also be available.

Ginevra's Story
Ginevra's Story, which examines the first known portrait by Leonardo da Vinci, Ginevra de' Benci is an hour-long video documentary produced by the Gallery and narrated by Meryl Streep. This video depicts how x-ray analysis, infrared reflectography, and the power of computer technology have delved beneath the surface of the painting to unveil fascinating stories about both Ginevra and Leonardo.

How to Purchase
Items can be purchased in the Gallery Shops or limited items may be purchased through mail order at (800) 697-9350 or (202) 842-6002, on the Gallery's Web site.

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General Information

The National Gallery of Art and its Sculpture Garden are at all times free to the public. They are located on the National Mall between 3rd and 9th Streets at Constitution Avenue NW, and are open Monday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The Gallery is closed on December 25 and January 1. For information call (202) 737-4215 or the Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD) at (202) 842-6176, or visit the Gallery's Web site at www.nga.gov. Follow the Gallery on Facebook at www.facebook.com/NationalGalleryofArt and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ngadc.

Visitors will be asked to present all carried items for inspection upon entering. Checkrooms are free of charge and located at each entrance. Luggage and other oversized bags must be presented at the 4th Street entrances to the East or West Building to permit x-ray screening and must be deposited in the checkrooms at those entrances. For the safety of visitors and the works of art, nothing may be carried into the Gallery on a visitor's back. Any bag or other items that cannot be carried reasonably and safely in some other manner must be left in the checkrooms. Items larger than 17 by 26 inches cannot be accepted by the Gallery or its checkrooms.

For additional press information please call or send inquiries to:

Press Office
National Gallery of Art
2000B South Club Drive
Landover, MD 20785
phone: (202) 842-6353 e-mail: pressinfo@nga.gov

Deborah Ziska
Chief of Press and Public Information
(202) 842-6353
ds-ziska@nga.gov

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