ITALIAN GARDENS OF THE RENAISSANCE 



Italian student, Gustavo Frizzoni, who paid a visit to 

 Berlin and on his return home sent him a photograph 

 of the Ambrosiana portrait, as the rarest thing in 

 Milan. To-day the precious picture has been cleaned, 

 re-framed, and hung in a prominent place, while the 

 admirable reproduction published by the Medici Society 

 has made this portrait one of the most popular of 

 Renaissance works. We are all of us familiar with 

 the exquisite little head and sweet young face, so pure 

 and virginal in its innocent charm, with the long 

 slender throat and the bright auburn locks caught up 

 in their jewelled fillet. The costly attire and rich gems 

 bear witness to the maiden's high degree, and the 

 intricate pattern of linked ornament, first worn by 

 Duchess Beatrice, and repeated in different forms by 

 Leonardo, point to a close connection with the house 

 of Sforza. Yet the origin of the portrait is still wrapt 

 in mystery. 



In the good old days, when every second picture was 

 ascribed to a great master, this portrait and its com- 

 panion-piece the bust of a young man in red cap 

 and fur-trimmed vest were labelled as portraits of 

 Lodovico Sforza and his wife Beatrice, painted by 

 Leonardo da Vinci. Morelli was the first to question 

 this attribution, and to point out certain defects in the 

 drawing of the girl's head and neck, and other peculi- 

 arities, which made it probable that the portraits were 

 the work of Ambrogio de Predis, a young Milanese 

 166 



