Portrait of a Woman, Possibly a Nun of San Secondo; (verso) Scene in Grisaille 1480 - 1500

Jacometto Veneziano painted this small portrait on wood, possibly in the 1490s. The delicate application of oil paint gives the woman’s skin a porcelain smoothness, contrasting with the stark black of her dress. Her white headscarf, rendered with subtle gradations of tone, frames a face turned in quiet contemplation. The composition is divided into clear horizontal bands. The foreground is dominated by the woman, set against a hazy landscape of water, fields, and distant mountains, creating a backdrop that both grounds and elevates her. The cool blues and greens of the landscape, seen through the atmospheric perspective, lend a sense of depth and tranquility to the scene. The painting's power lies in its formal arrangement and in the contrast between the figure's solid presence and the dreamy landscape. This structure invites reflection on the interplay between individual identity and the broader world, a theme that continues to resonate through artistic and philosophical discourse.