Venetian school of the XVIII century.

Venetian school of the XVIII century.
"Female portrait".
Oil on canvas.
Relined.
Measurements: 80 x 65 cm; 105 x 92 cm (frame).

Feminine portrait of Venetian school of the XVIII century, a work impregnated with the rococo refinement that characterized the civil portrait painting of the Republic of Venice in its last aristocratic splendors. This canvas embodies, with elegance and restraint, the ideals of grace, luxury and sensual lightness that defined the visual culture of the Venetian nobility in the Settecento.

The protagonist, a lady of high social standing, presumably belonging to the local aristocracy, is presented bust-length, with her head turned gently to the right, giving the portrait an air of spontaneity. Her eyes, large and bright, seem to be attracted by something outside the frame, or else they are engaged in a mental evocation, which adds a psychological dimension to the portrait.

Her face is delicate, worked with soft glazes, blending rosy cheeks, carmine lips and pearly skin that reflects the influence of the painting of Rosalba Carriera and other masters of pastel, although here resolved in oil. The white powdered hair, carefully gathered, follows the courtly fashion of the period, tinged with pearly lights that harmonize with the pink of the scarf that falls on her shoulders. This scarf marks a note of textile lightness that balances the voluptuousness of the low-cut bodice, from which emerges a small brooch that acts as a focal point at the neckline, reminiscent of the precious details so typical of Venetian taste.

This portrait fits naturally into the pictorial tradition of eighteenth-century Venice, heir to the colorful opulence of Titian and Veronese, but softened by the new enlightened taste for the intimate, the delicate and the gallant.