This piece speaks to beginnings and hard-won resilience - an apt gesture for encouragement, recognition, or someone quietly starting over. Against a star-flecked crimson ground, silvered leaves encircle the Latin phrase Virtutem Forma Decorat - Beauty Adorns Virtue. Each detail feels deliberate: grace shaped under pressure. Once attributed to Leonardo da Vinci, the panel reflects a Renaissance belief that strength is forged through effort, not display.Currently held by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., courtesy of the Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund.
