Portrait of a Lady

Marino Pompeo Molmenti · ca. 1850
Oil on canvas
Venice, Italy - Museo d’Arte Moderna, Ca’ Pesaro
LDA · XXIX · MMXXV

Source
Book · La Pittura Veneta dell’Ottocento · Fratelli Fabbri Editori · 1967 · p. 45

Molmenti presents the sitter with a precision characteristic of mid-19th-century Venetian portraiture, where identity is expressed through material detail. The structured bodice, ruffled collar and dark sash are contemporary markers of refinement and social propriety, while the hairstyle and jewellery signal status. The direct gaze establishes the sitter as an active participant rather than an object of display, balancing poise with self-awareness.

Reposting welcome; please credit Libreria d’Arte - Studio Soli.

Detail
Pendant and earrings - matched jewellery functioning as visible markers of status and domestic respectability within 19th-century bourgeois portrait conventions

Detail
Folded fan - a portable accessory associated with refinement and social etiquette, positioned here as a symbol of feminine composure and controlled self-presentation