Jacopo Palma Vecchio “Portrait of a Woman Called the Courtesan” Poldi Pezzoli Museum in Milan in Italy

Jacopo Palma Vecchio (1480-30 July 1528) “Portrait of a Woman Called the Courtesan”

Painting - Oil on Canvas (101 x 87 cm) 1520

Jacopo Palma Vecchio, Portrait of a Woman Called the Courtesan, Poldi Pezzoli Museum in Milan in Italy

Portrait of a Woman Red-dyed silk clothing, the most sought-after and most valuable colour at the time, was a sign of wealth. We are, therefore, in the presence of a woman of nobility or at least of high rank.

On the other hand, the wide-open white shirt that erotically exposed the breasts made it appear, over time, that she was a courtesan.

However, the history of Venetian painting, particularly that of Venetian female portraits from the beginning of the 16th century, contradicts this interpretation.

Female portraits of this period in Venice represented wives, mainly referring to marriage.

Portrait of a Woman The breast was then considered the seat of the soul and the heart; it was certainly seen as an element of seduction while promising fertility.

Showing a naked breast, as the young woman in this portrait does, was seen as an offering of love from a woman to her husband.

The young woman's shirt is white, which symbolises both the wedding dress's chastity and purity.

She looks tenderly to the left, tilting her head slightly as her soft face turns pink.

Portrait of a Woman It was also traditional among Venetian women to have long, beautiful hair left free, as in this portrait.

Observing the numerous female portraits of Titian, we can see that Palma the Old followed the pictorial tradition initiated by the great Venetian master.

This is the case of “Sacred Love and Profane Love” by Titian, his famous painting exhibited at the Borghese Gallery in Rome, which shows secular Love as a clothed woman while Sacred Love is a naked woman.

The comparison between this painting by Titian and that of the young woman from Palma is also interesting in terms of colours.

Portrait of a Woman In Titian's painting, although very naked, the young woman of Sacred Love has a red tunic on one shoulder, and her penis is hidden under a white cloth placed across her thighs.

Colours that we find at Palma: the white of the young woman's open shirt and the red of her silk garment. Therefore, the young woman from Palma represents Sacred Love as it was conceived in the Venetian iconography of the time.

Finally, whether it is the gentle and almost shy expression of the young woman from Palma or the wise position of her hands, we can see that nothing provocative here could recall the attitudes of a courtesan whose job is to arouse desire and lust.

Portrait of a Woman