Portraits and Visions in Renaissance Veneto: Titian, Moroni, Veronese

At the turn of the sixteenth century, a series of striking portraits emerged in Northern Italy. Patrons, once confined to the independent likeness or sacra conversazione, began to commemorate themselves anew in scenes from the life of Christ. From the Nativity to Calvary, individuals appear in variable landscapes without intercessory saint or any mode of physical demarcation. Although these portraits came to characterize the work of celebrated Veneto artists, scholars have yet to establish their origin and evolving significance. My dissertation offers the first systematic study on this iconographic pattern I term the visionary portrait.