Portrait of Countess Livia da Porto Thiene and her Daughter Deidamia

Description Veronese's majestic, full-length portrait of the countess and her eldest daughter Deidamia, born in 1545, was originally accompanied by one of her husband Count Issepo (Giuseppe) da Porto and their son Leonida (now in the Palazzo Pitti, Florence). These paintings were most likely installed in their palace in Vicenza, which had recently been built by Andrea Palladio (1508-1580). The portraits would have been placed so that it would appear as if the family were standing in niches inside the palace; however, the floor strip below is a later addition. Veronese was famous for his use of color and mastered the rendering of luxurious textures and fabrics, including the marten's fur. The head of gold and enamel is nearly identical to one in the Walters' collection (57.1982). Marten fur was thought to protect women in childbirth, and in 1552 the countess was pregnant with her daughter Emilia.

Conservation

Date	Description	Narrative
10/01/1949	Treatment	repaired
3/16/1979	Examination	examined for exhibition
10/07/1979	Treatment	cleaned; coated; loss compensation; other
4/01/1994	Treatment	repaired
9/01/1996	Treatment	repaired
10/01/1996	Treatment	repaired
9/01/2004	Treatment	loss compensation; cleaned
8/30/2006	Treatment	loss compensation; other

Exhibitions

• An Exhibition of the Treasures of The Walters Art Gallery. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore; Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton; Pace Wildenstein Gallery, New York. 1967.
• Undercover Stories in Art. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. 1980.
• The Art of Paolo Veronese, 1528-1588. National Gallery of Art, Washington. 1988-1989.
• Highlights from the Collection. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. 1998-2001.
• At Home in Renaissance Italy. Victoria and Albert Museum, London. 2006-2007.
• Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese: Rivals in Renaissance Venice. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Boston; Musée du Louvre, Paris. 2009-2010.
• Veronese: Magnificence in Renaissance Venice. The National Gallery, London. 2014.
• High Society. Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, Amsterdam. 2018.
• Behind the Scenes of the Renaissance. Basilica Palladiana, Vicenza. 2021-2022.

Provenance Private collection, Vicenza [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Paolo Paolini, Rome [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1921 [mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.

Credit Acquired by Henry Walters, 1921