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

Jacometto Veneziano, who specialized in exquisitely refined small-scale portraits and devotional paintings, among the most intimate works of the Venetian Renaissance, created this work around 1490, now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Portrait painting emerged as a major genre during the fifteenth century, reflecting the growing emphasis on individual identity and the secular confidence of the merchant and aristocratic classes.

The portrait demonstrates skilled observation of individual features and the rendering of textile textures, combining naturalistic likeness with the dignified presentation expected in commemorative portraiture.