''Turkish Slave'' (Italian: ''Schiava turca''), also called ''Portrait of a Young Woman'', is a painting by the Italian

Mannerist Mannerism, which may also be known as Late Renaissance, is a style in European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, spreading by about 1530 and lasting until about the end of the 16th century in Italy, ...

artist

Parmigianino Girolamo Francesco Maria Mazzola (11 January 150324 August 1540), also known as Francesco Mazzola or, more commonly, as Parmigianino (, , ; "the little one from Parma"), was an Italian Mannerist painter and printmaker active in Florence, Rome, Bo ...

. The painting was executed around 1533. It is housed in the Galleria nazionale di Parma. The title derives from the misinterpretation of the sitter's headwear as a

turban A turban (from Persian دولبند‌, ''dulband''; via Middle French ''turbant'') is a type of headwear based on cloth winding. Featuring many variations, it is worn as customary headwear by people of various cultures. Communities with promine ...

. It is in fact a typical headdress of noblewomen of the time called a '' balzo'', with examples appearing in numerous contemporary portraits.

20,000 Years of Fashion ''20,000 Years of Fashion: The History of Costume and Personal Adornment'' is a dictionary of western fashion from ancient times up to the 1960s, edited by Francois Boucher and his longtime assistant Yvonne Deslandres. The book is widely cited a ...

, page 219-220 She is wearing a chemise under her elaborately sleeved dress called a '' guimp'' and is holding a feather fan used as a flywhisk.

History

The work was in the

Uffizi Gallery The Uffizi Gallery (; it, Galleria degli Uffizi, italic=no, ) is a prominent art museum located adjacent to the Piazza della Signoria in the Historic Centre of Florence in the region of Tuscany, Italy. One of the most important Italian museums ...

until 1928, when it was exchanged for two 13th century panels and a portrait thought to be of

Philip, Duke of Parma it, Filippo di Borbone , house = Bourbon-Parma (founder) , father = Philip V of Spain , mother = Elisabeth Farnese , birth_date = , birth_place = Royal Alcazar, Madrid, Spain , death_date = , death_place = Alessan ...

Giuseppe Baldrighi Giuseppe Baldrighi (12 August 1722 – 22 January 1803) was an Italian painter of the late Baroque (Rococo) and early Neoclassic periods. Biography Born in the town of Stradella, in Lombardy, Giuseppe Baldrighi initially trained with an unkno ...

and later recognized as a self-portrait. It had arrived in Florence through Cardinal

Leopoldo de' Medici Leopoldo de' Medici (6 November 1617 – 10 November 1675) was an Italian cardinal, scholar, patron of the arts and Governor of Siena. He was the brother of Ferdinando II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany. Biography Prince Leopoldo was born at ...

, who owned it as early as 1675 and left it to the

Medici The House of Medici ( , ) was an Italian banking family and political dynasty that first began to gather prominence under Cosimo de' Medici, in the Republic of Florence during the first half of the 15th century. The family originated in the Muge ...

Cabinet after his death. It is mentioned in the Uffizi inventories of 1704 and 1890, being listed in the latter as "Portrait of a Young Woman with a turban on her head, with the left she holds a plume, by Parmigianino's hand". The work was restored in 1968, at which time the dark background was removed and a uniform, earth-like color was discovered. The intervention, however, has been criticized, since several art historians consider the black background as a later intervention by Parmigianino himself.

Description

The subject is a young woman with brown hair and eyes, portrayed as a half-figure. She wears a white silk dress or bodice striped with gold. Her over-dress of

indigo Indigo is a deep color close to the color wheel blue (a primary color in the RGB color space), as well as to some variants of ultramarine, based on the ancient dye of the same name. The word "indigo" comes from the Latin word ''indicum'', m ...

blue satin has large puffed sleeves and is worn low around the shoulders, revealing the bodice. She also wears a soft embroidered apron on her belly of a type also represented in the painting '' Antea'' by the same artist. On the head she wears a doughnut-shaped headdress sewn with gilt thread and decorated by a medallion portraying

Pegasus Pegasus ( grc-gre, Πήγασος, Pḗgasos; la, Pegasus, Pegasos) is one of the best known creatures in Greek mythology. He is a winged divine stallion usually depicted as pure white in color. He was sired by Poseidon, in his role as hor ...

, perhaps a metaphor of love or a heraldic reference to the Cavalli family. This style of headwear was fashionable for women of the time, invented for

Isabella d'Este Isabella d'Este (19 May 1474 – 13 February 1539) was Marchioness of Mantua and one of the leading women of the Italian Renaissance as a major cultural and political figure. She was a patron of the arts as well as a leader of fashion, whos ...

and featured in numerous female portraits from the Lombard and Padan area in the early 16th century. On the hand, whose slender fingers are typical of Parmigianino art, she wears a small ring, perhaps a reference to a recent marriage. She holds a plume used to fan herself, depicted with highly detailed brushstrokes. The proposed identifications of the woman include

Giulia Gonzaga Giulia Gonzaga (1513 – 16 April 1566) was an Italian ruler and letter writer of the Renaissance. She was the countess regnant of Rodigo as the heir of her late spouse between 1528 and 1541. Biography Giulia was born in Gazzuolo (near Mantua) ...

at the time of her marriage to

Vespasiano Gonzaga 250px, Vespasiano I Gonzaga. Vespasiano I Gonzaga, Duke of Sabbioneta (6 December 1531 – 26 February 1591) was an Italian nobleman, diplomat, writer, military engineer and condottiero. He is remembered as a patron of the arts and the founder ...

References

Sources

* {{Parmigianino Paintings by Parmigianino 1533 paintings Portraits by Italian artists Collections of the Galleria nazionale di Parma Portraits of women