Portrait of Paola Bonanome Gualdo with her daughters Laura and Virgini

The paintings once belonged to the collection that the Counts Gualdo kept in their homes at Pusterla di Vicenza. This precious collection was dispersed after the destruction of the family homes and, from that moment, the two paintings followed different paths until they were reunited in Palazzo Chiericati (1958).

These two masterpieces were painted by Fasolo in the years 1566-1567. In these works the artist reveals his excellent gifts as a portrait painter, on a par with Veronese.

The esteemed jurist Giuseppe Gualdo, member of one of the most illustrious families in Vicenza, is portrayed here with his sons Paolo and Paolo Emilio. The dark robe, the severe expression of his face and the movement of his hand pointing to the hourglass and the book bearing the family motto,Boni et aequi, are signs of the prestige and morality of his family, as well as of the equity and moderation that marked him as a man of law. With a tender paternal gesture, Giuseppe holds close to him the younger of his sons, Paolo Emilio, while looking towards the elder, Paolo. The boys are dressed in the fashion of the time, just arrived from Spain: red stockings, short puffed breeches, close fitting bodices and finely decorated white shirts.

The clothes of the women of the family are luxurious and elegant, typical of the Renaissance. Paola Bonanome, Giuseppe’s wife, wears a heavy dress of black velvet embellished with old-gold coloured embroidery and jewels, adorned on the shoulders with puffed silk. The girls’ clothes are equally refined, though simpler and more childish. The younger daughter, Virginia, holds a goldfinch, the symbol of the Passion of Christ, alluding that she is destined to the life of the cloister, whereas the family has decided that Laura is to be married, in fact the dog on the right of the second painting, symbolising conjugal fidelity, is looking towards her.