Portrait d'une jeune femme

Around 1520 the workshop of Raphael in Rome was the busiest painting studio in Europe, and Giulio Romano was its most gifted young hand. When Raphael died suddenly that April, at only 37, pictures like this one were left half-finished. X-rays and cleaning have since shown two hands at work: Giulio seems to have painted the head, neck and bust after a design by the master, while the hand, the sleeves and the chemise drawn up over the woman's chest were added afterwards. We do not know who she is. She was long linked to La Fornarina, Raphael's mistress, but the face belongs to a different woman, and the nose alone gives it away.