Veiled Lady

The exquisite beauty of the "Veiled Lady" is heightened by the fact that so little is known about it. The artist Pietro Rossi was obviously very skilled, but the only information that has been uncovered is a connection to the Italian city of Novara, north of Milan, where he participated in an exhibition in 1856. The "Veiled Lady" illustrates a theme which was very popular in the second half of the nineteenth century: the illusion of the diaphanous drapery. Since it was given to the museum in 1910, it has become one of most beloved and well-known pieces in the collection.