''Portrait of a Lady'', formerly known as ''Portrait of Giulia Gonzaga'', is an oil painting by, or possibly after,
Titian
Tiziano Vecelli or Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italians, Italian (Republic of Venice, Venetian) painter of the Renaissance, considered the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school (art), ...
. It is dated, broadly, to the period 1525–1565. The painting is in the collection of the
Art Institute of Chicago
The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...
.
Description
The attribution of this picture is uncertain, although it has long been associated with Titian. It is related to ''
La Bella
''La Bella'' is a portrait of a woman by Titian in the Palazzo Pitti in Florence. The painting shows the subject with the ideal proportions for Renaissance women. ''Los maestros de la pintura occidental'', Taschen, 2005, page 176, . In parallel ...
'' and ''
Girl in a Fur''. It has usually been entitled ''Portrait of Giulia Gonzaga'', but the identification with the Italian noblewoman
of that name is no longer accepted; it is now entitled simply ''Portrait of a Lady''.
[Lloyd 1993, p. 246.]
Condition
The painting is in poor condition, and was cleaned of earlier inpainting in the 1960s. Some paint and
ground
Ground may refer to:
Geology
* Land, the surface of the Earth not covered by water
* Soil, a mixture of clay, sand and organic matter present on the surface of the Earth
Electricity
* Ground (electricity), the reference point in an electrical c ...
has been lost in the upper background and in the sitter's hair. The surface of the paint is abraded in places in the background, on the left side of the sitter's face, and on her bosom.
Provenance
* Private Collection, Italy.
* Sold by Böhler and Steinmeyer, New York, to Max Epstein (died 1954), Chicago, between 1928 and 1930.
* Bequeathed to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1954.
Versions
There is one other version in a private collection in Italy,
[''Oglio Po News'' 2013-08-23.] and there is a copy of the Chicago portrait in the
Museo Cerralbo in Madrid.
See also
*
List of works by Titian
This incomplete list of works by Titian contains representative portraits and mythological and religious works from a large oeuvre that spanned 70 years. (Titian left relatively few drawings.) Painting titles and dates often vary by source.
Lis ...
References
Sources
* Berenson, Bernard (1957). ''Italian Pictures of the Renaissance: Venetian School''
Vol. 1 London: Phaidon Press. p. 184.
* Lloyd, Christopher (1993).
Italian Paintings before 1600 in the Art Institute of Chicago: A Catalogue of the Collection'. Chicago. pp. 246–248, ill.
* Wethey, Harold E. (1971). ''The Paintings of Titian: Complete Edition''
Vol. 2: ''The Portraits'' London: Phaidon Press. p. 169, no. X-60.
*
Paintings in the Art Institute of Chicago: A Catalogue of the Picture Collection'. Chicago, 1961. p. 451.
* ''The Art News''
28(18) New York. 1 February 1930. p. 3, ill.
"Portrait of a Lady" ''The Art Institute of Chicago''. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
"Sabbioneta celebra la bellezza, nel segno di Giulia Gonzaga" ''Oglio Po News''. 23 August 2013. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
"VH 0473" ''Museo Cerralbo''. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
{{Authority control
Portraits by Titian
Paintings in the Art Institute of Chicago
16th-century paintings