Portrait of young woman

This Strasburg portrait of a young woman, painted by Raphael around 1515, is a good example of the virtuosity and sensitivity of the artist.

Have a look at the costume discretely adorned with pearls. Look at the hand, so full of movement. Pulling back a little, you’ll notice a difference between the two parts of the painting. The upper part is almost like enamel and has a chiseled feel. The lower part is painted with a rougher touch. The head, the seat of reason, is in opposition to the body, subject to impulses.

But who is it a painting of ? Is it The Fornarina, the lover who by her attentions may have caused the death of the artist? This particular beautiful woman was painted nude a little later on in a famous painting by Raphael which can be seen in the Barberini Gallery in Rome. Or could it perhaps be the wife of Bindo Altoviti? The portrait of this Florentine man is displayed at the National Gallery in Washington. It was painted at the same time as this portrait and has many similarities. It could be its counterpart.

There’s another question raised by this work which remains unresolved: should one recognise in the majestuous technique of the work some help by Giulio Romano, the brilliant assistant of the master ?  Perhaps we should simply recognise the strengths of Raphael’s innovation. Because he really was, together with Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Giorgione, Titian and Correggio, one of the giants of the Italian Renaissance during its ‘classical’ phase.