The ambiguity of the life of Veronica Franco combined with that of the identities of the sitters in most female Venetian portraits, makes it impossible to tell whether or not artists were modeling their courtesans after her. In a discipline such as this one, scholars will have to go as far as to question whether or not the images of Franco are accurate ones or whether or not they are even of her. Perhaps the face of Franco was based on Titian’s ideal beauties. If this is true, and if it is true that artists did base their female portraiture off of Franco’s portraits, did they want to make their sitters (both courtesans and aristocratic women combined) ideal beauties as well? Perhaps it is best to cease the questioning, assuming, and speculation as such questions will most likely never be answered. What is known for sure is that these paintings are beautiful pieces of art filled with skill and craftsmanship put in by the artist, and they should be admired and praised for what they are.
