Portrait of a Courtesan

Palma Vecchio's Portrait of a Courtesan, painted around 1520 and now in the Museo Poldi Pezzoli, Milan, is a characteristic example of the idealized female portrait that was central to Venetian painting. The identification as a courtesan reflects the prominent role of such women in Venetian cultural life, though the subject may simply be an idealized beauty. Palma Vecchio was particularly celebrated for his paintings of beautiful women with golden hair and warm, luminous flesh.

Palma Vecchio renders the idealized female figure with his signature warm, golden palette and broad, sensuous brushwork, using the characteristic Venetian technique of building up luminous flesh tones through layered oil glazes.