# Portrait of a Young Woman [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [LORENZO DI CREDI]() - Date: 1501-1550 - Technique: Tempera and oil on wood, 59 x 40 cm ## Commentary This painting reflects an important step in the evolution of Florentine portraits of women: earlier examples almost always show them bust-length and in profile. The change came about in the mid-1470s in the work of the young Leonardo da Vinci and, slightly later, in the work of Botticelli. In the new format, women turn their faces toward the spectator, giving artists greater opportunity to suggest their personalities. By increasing the length of portraits, artists could also include the hands and show the sitters in more natural poses. The catalyst for this change seems to have been <a onclick="return OpenOther\('/html/v/verocchi/sculptur/portrai.html'\)" href="/html/v/verocchi/sculptur/portrai.html">Verrocchio's Lady with Primroses.</a> An old inscription on the back of the panel identifies the sitter as Ginevra d'Amerigo de' Benci, the same young woman whom <a onclick="return OpenOther\('/html/l/leonardo/01/4benci.html'\)" href="/html/l/leonardo/01/4benci.html">Leonardo depicted in a portrait.</a> Lorenzo di Credi's painting is clearly inspired by Leonardo's portrait. ## Related artworks - [Adoration of the Child]() - [Adoration of the Shepherds]() - [An Angel Brings the Holy Communion to Mary Magdalen]() - [Annunciation \(detail\)]() - [Annunciation]() - [Bust of a Boy Wearing a Cap]() - [Bust of a Man Wearing a Rolled-Up Cowl Hood]() - [Head of an Elderly Man Wearing a Hat]() - [Madonna and Child with a Pomegranate]() - [Madonna with the Christ Child and St John the Baptist]() - [Portrait of a Man]() - [The Holy Family]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()