A Look Through the Portrait of Marija Ghetaldi-Gondola

The exhibition A Look Through the Portrait of Marija Ghetaldi-Gondola took place in 2024 at the Cultural History Museum, Dubrovnik Museums, in cooperation with the Croatian Conservation Institute. The exhibition resulted from a year-long programme of research and conservation treatment carried out on Carmelo Reggio’s Portrait of Marija Ghetaldi-Gondola. The application of contemporary non-invasive research methods, primarily photographic and imaging techniques, led to a rare and significant discovery: an earlier portrait was found beneath the visible paint layer. This finding enabled the contextualization of both portraits within the broader corpus of works in the Cultural History Museum. The research also brought to light little-known aspects of the history of the noble Dubrovnik Ghetaldi and Gondola families, while the results further enrich the biography and catalogue of works of the Austrian painter Franz Xaver Span.