Frau mit Spiegel

Titian painted this around 1515, when he was young and Venice was the richest city for a painter to make his name in. A woman with loosened hair leans at a ledge, one hand in her hair, while a man behind her holds up two mirrors, one showing her from the front and one from behind. That was a deliberate boast. Painters of the time argued with sculptors about which art was superior, and Titian's answer is that with mirrors he can show you every side of a figure at once, something no statue can do. Who she is has never been settled. Some have called her a courtesan, others read her as a bride, and loose hair like this was something women wore only at home, which gives the whole scene its intimacy. The picture later belonged to Charles the First of England, and after his execution it was sold and bought by Louis the Fourteenth of France.