Portrait of Felicita Sartori

Felicita Sartori by Rosalba Carriera is a fine piece of portraiture from the eighteenth-century Venice that represents Felicita with an elegant and refined combination of personal traits, clothing style, and symbolic value. This artwork created approximately in 1740-1741 was painted of Felicita Sartori who was Carriera's pupil. In the painting, she wears a Turkish costume, which means a dress with elaborate pattern, headscarf, and mask. This costume symbolizes the fashion of Venetians in the period of time when they loved to imagine Eastern culture and wore fancy costumes. Pastel technique used by the artist is vital for the picture. Instead of using hard outlines, the artist creates the face by means of colour transitions creating the feeling of lightness and translucency of the skin. Due to the careful modeling of the face, the well-composed expression and restrained gaze, it seems like intimate picture but still the viewer can feel the elegance of a fashionable portrait. In the background, Felicita's face and costume attract the attention and thanks to various texture of the fabric, hair, and ornaments, Carriera shows her skills in working with pastel. There is an added dimension created by the mask. On one hand, it alludes to the Venetian culture of masquerading; on the other hand, it serves to link the portrayed individual to art and theater. This means that the image created goes beyond mere depiction and portrays Sartori as a young and well-bred lady who is affiliated with the artistic world of Venice in the eighteenth century.