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 
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