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''Two Venetian Ladies'' is an oil on panel painting by the Italian Renaissance artist
was published in 1944, and it was later realized that this is part of the same work, fitting above this part: it portrays several boats in a lagoon, and would explain the meaning of the scene, as two women awaiting their husbands' return after an expedition hunting, or fishing with cormorants, in the Venetian lagoo
This discovery was verified by an in depth technical analysis, comparing the two fragmentary panels. Another panel the same size as these two combined would have been on the left; probably the two were hinged together to make a
Fishing with cormorants: a note on Vittore Carpaccio's ''Hunting on the lagoon''Getty video on how the two panels fitted togetherPage at artonline.it
{{15C-painting-stub 1490s paintings Paintings by Vittore Carpaccio Collections of the Museo Correr Birds in art Dogs in art Venice in art Trompe-l'œil paintings
Vittore Carpaccio
Vittore Carpaccio ( UK: /kɑːrˈpætʃ(i)oʊ/, US: /-ˈpɑːtʃ-/, Italian: itˈtoːre karˈpattʃo c. 1460/66 – 1525/26) was an Italian painter of the Venetian school who studied under Gentile Bellini. Carpaccio was largely influence ...
.
The painting, believed to be a quarter of the original work, was executed around 1490 and shows two unknown Venetian ladies. The top portion of the panel, called ''Hunting on the Lagoon'' is in the Getty Museum
The J. Paul Getty Museum, commonly referred to as the Getty, is an art museum in Los Angeles, California housed on two campuses: the Getty Center and Getty Villa.
The Getty Center is located in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles and fe ...
, and another matching panel is missing. The painting was formerly considered to show two courtesan
Courtesan, in modern usage, is a euphemism for a "kept" mistress or prostitute, particularly one with wealthy, powerful, or influential clients. The term historically referred to a courtier, a person who attended the court of a monarch or other ...
s. Modern art historians think them more likely members to be of the patrician Torella family, as suggested by their fine clothes and the pearl necklaces, but academic debate continues, as with other similar Venetian paintings of the period. Several objects - the white kerchief
A kerchief (from the Old French ''couvrechief'', "cover head"), also known as a bandana, bandanna, or "Wild Rag" (in cowboy culture), is a triangular or square piece of cloth tied around the head, face or neck for protective or decorative purpos ...
, the pearl
A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle) of a living shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is composed of calcium carb ...
s and the animals (the dove
Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...
s, Venus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never f ...
's bird) are symbols of chastity
Chastity, also known as purity, is a virtue related to temperance. Someone who is ''chaste'' refrains either from sexual activity considered immoral or any sexual activity, according to their state of life. In some contexts, for example when ma ...
. Note the chopines, or platform clogs, on the left.
Another painted panel, now in the Getty Museum
The J. Paul Getty Museum, commonly referred to as the Getty, is an art museum in Los Angeles, California housed on two campuses: the Getty Center and Getty Villa.
The Getty Center is located in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles and fe ...
br>was published in 1944, and it was later realized that this is part of the same work, fitting above this part: it portrays several boats in a lagoon, and would explain the meaning of the scene, as two women awaiting their husbands' return after an expedition hunting, or fishing with cormorants, in the Venetian lagoo
This discovery was verified by an in depth technical analysis, comparing the two fragmentary panels. Another panel the same size as these two combined would have been on the left; probably the two were hinged together to make a
diptych
A diptych (; from the Greek δίπτυχον, ''di'' "two" + '' ptychē'' "fold") is any object with two flat plates which form a pair, often attached by hinge. For example, the standard notebook and school exercise book of the ancient world w ...
, or a folding door or shutter. The Getty panel has an illusionistic letter rack painted on the back of the panel, which was presumably matched on this panel. This appears to be the earliest small-scale trompe-l'œil
''Trompe-l'œil'' ( , ; ) is an artistic term for the highly realistic optical illusion of three-dimensional space and objects on a two-dimensional surface. ''Trompe l'oeil'', which is most often associated with painting, tricks the viewer into ...
painting since antiquity.
References
Fishing with cormorants: a note on Vittore Carpaccio's ''Hunting on the lagoon''
{{15C-painting-stub 1490s paintings Paintings by Vittore Carpaccio Collections of the Museo Correr Birds in art Dogs in art Venice in art Trompe-l'œil paintings