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Portrait of a Lady ('La Schiavona')

Image credit: The National Gallery, London

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Notes

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Titian painted this picture when he was in his early twenties, at a time when private portraits of individual women were still rare. We don‘t know the identity of the sitter, if indeed this is a portrait in the traditional sense, rather than a general picture of a woman designed to encourage such commissions. The title La Schiavona, meaning ’the Dalmatian woman‘, was given to the picture in the seventeenth century. ’La Schiavona‘ is self-possessed and has a commanding gaze unlike any woman in an earlier European portrait. Titian’s approach is original not only because the painting is three-quarter length and apparently life-sized but also because it was painted to make an impact from a distance. The profile bust portrait, inspired by ancient Roman sculpture and cameos, appears to represent the sitter herself but may commemorate a member of her family.

The National Gallery, London

London

Title

Portrait of a Lady ('La Schiavona')

Date

about 1510-12

Medium

Oil on canvas

Measurements

H 119.4 x W 96.5 cm

Accession number

NG5385

Acquisition method

Presented through The Art Fund by Sir Francis Cook, Bt., in memory of his father, Sir Herbert Cook, Bt., 1942

Work type

Painting

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Normally on display at

The National Gallery, London

Trafalgar Square, London, Greater London WC2N 5DN England

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