A question that comes to my mind is what comes first? Beauty or Virtue?
Another one of my study sketches from the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC. I wonder why the "Mona Lisa" in the Louvre gets all the attention. This portrait of a lady by Leonardo da Vinci is just as lovely and the bonus is that there are not as many tourist visitors and you can get right up close to the painting. The art is mounted in a pillar so that you can walk around to the back of the frame and see the inscription that da Vinci painted. It is the de Benci family motto painted on a wreath; Virtvem Forma Decorat.
