Mary D, The Expanding Discourse: Feminism and Art History, 1992). As a result, a feeling is created that gives the viewer a sensation of looking at part of the personality of the subject presented to them. .
One of da Vinci's first paintings to break away from the conventions associated with art was his portrait of Ginevra de' Benci. Painted around 1470 she is presented in a haunting way, her pale flesh looks completely smooth an effect which was achieved by the artist literally smoothing the paint onto his canvass using his hands. The young lady looks straight through the painting as if looking past the viewer, in a sultry manner. At first glance she appears to be actually making eye contact with the viewer however, on closer examination it is clear that she looks beyond you appearing to be completely uninterested in the fact that she is being painted. She appears to confront the viewer's gaze with an icy, non-coquettish stare' (Garrard, 1992). Her thin lips are completely plain leaving the overall look of her face lacking any sort of emotion whatsoever. The subject of the painting appears to be highly illuminated as a result of the understated dark background behind her. Trees, mist and a lake all aid da Vinci to draw the viewer's eyes directly to his female and prevent them from being preoccupied by an overly distracting intricately detailed background.
Sir Philip Sidney's text Old Arcadia (1579-80) described his heroine wearing a dress so near nakedness that one might well discern part of her perfections, and yet so apparelled as did show that she kept the best store of her beauties to herself' this reflects the idea that women were a mystery to men. Whilst revealing some flesh yet keeping themselves covered overall, women provide fuel for the imaginations of men which is clearly expressed throughout the art of the Renaissance. During the Renaissance women were defined by their sexuality, it was widely accepted that to be a woman in the world was to be the object of the male gaze' (Simons Patricia, The Expanding Discourse: Feminism and Art History, 1992).
