DescriptionLittle is known about the mysterious Venetian artist Jacometto (Jacometto Veneziano). The portraits in the Robert Lehman Collection (1975.1.85 and 1975.1.86), his most important surviving paintings, are most likely the ones mentioned in a sixteenth-century guidebook citing the artistic masterpieces of Venice, where they are described admiringly as "a most perfect work." Based on this early reference, the sitters have traditionally been identified as Alvise Contarini and a nun of San Secondo, though the secular garb of the female sitter makes the latter identification unlikely. Both portraits are striking for their meticulous detail, highly refined technique, and luminous, atmospheric landscape backgrounds.

Signatures, Inscriptions, and MarkingsInscriptions: Inscribed (verso): AI EI

ProvenancePossibly Michele Contarini (1543); probably Gabriele Vendramin (1565); Fürstlich Liechtensteinische Gemäldegalerie, Vienna, Austria, 1863 (cat. 1873, no. 1081 [as Antonello da Messina]; cat. 1885, no. 734 [as Antonello da Messina]); Wildenstein, New York from 1961. Acquired by Robert Lehman in November 1967.