Artwork
Portrait of Iseppo da Porto and his son Adriano
Portrait of Iseppo da Porto and his son Adriano is an oil painting by the Mannerist artist Paolo Veronese. It dates from 1555 and is held in the collection of the Uffizi Gallery. Created around 1555, this oil on canvas depicts Iseppo da Porto, a Venetian nobleman, together with his son Adriano.
About this work
Overview
Created around 1555, this oil on canvas depicts Iseppo da Porto, a Venetian nobleman, together with his son Adriano. Executed by Paolo Veronese, the work now belongs to the Contini Bonacossi collection and is displayed on long‑term loan at the Uffizi in Florence.
Subject & Meaning
The portrait presents the father in a dark coat trimmed with fur, his arm resting protectively on the boy’s shoulder, while the son, dressed in a contrasting white and black ensemble, looks upward toward his father. The composition emphasizes familial bond and lineage, a common theme in Renaissance portraiture.
Technique & Style
Veronese employs a restrained palette and a plain wall background, allowing the figures’ textures—fur, fabric, and metal of the sword—to dominate the visual field. The careful rendering of light on the garments and the subtle modeling of faces reflect the artist’s mature handling of oil.
History & Provenance
The painting was part of the Sedelmeyer collection in Paris before being acquired by the Italian dealer Alessandro Contini Bonacossi. Its companion piece, a portrait of Iseppo’s wife Livia (or Lucia) Thien, eventually entered the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore after passing through a private collection in Vicenza.
Context
Veronese painted this work while also decorating the Palazzo Porto in Vicenza, a Palladian villa completed in 1552 for the same patron. The portrait thus forms part of a broader visual program that celebrated the Porto family’s status and cultural patronage.
Artist & collection
Artist
Paolo Caliari (1528 – 19 April 1588), known as Paolo Veronese ( VERR-ə-NAY-zay, -zee, US also -see; Italian: ), was an Italian Renaissance painter based in Venice, known for extremely large history paintings of…
Man Holding a Flute
Alessandro Alberti with a Page
Portrait of Alfonso d'Avalos, Marchese del Vasto, in Armor with a Page
Gruppenbildnis
Portrait of a Man in a Fur-Trimmed Coat
Portrait of Duke Christoph von Württemberg (1515-1568) in Spanish costume
Portrait of a Man
Portrait of Marquess Massimiliano Stampa
Portrait of a Man in Fur-lined Coat with Gloves
Portrait of Johannes Carion
Francesco I de' Medici (1541-1587)