扇を持つ婦人

Velázquez painted this around the late 1630s, at the height of his years as court painter to Philip IV in Madrid. It is one of his most quietly puzzling portraits, because nobody has ever settled who she is. She wears a black lace veil and a dark low-cut dress, and holds a folded fan, and her costume mixes Spanish and French fashion, which is part of the mystery. Some have proposed the painter's own wife or daughter; the most intriguing guess is Marie de Rohan, the Duchess of Chevreuse, a French intriguer exiled to the Spanish court around the time Velázquez is recorded painting her. He gives her a level, unhurried gaze and leaves the rest in shadow. The fan and the direct look are almost all we are given to go on.