Виоланта

The name of the woman in this portrait is really a guess. For a long time the picture was given to the Venetian painter Palma the Elder, and the sitter was said to be his daughter Violante, though there is no actual evidence for either. What gave her the name is the small detail you can find tucked into her dress. A single violet nestles at her neckline, and violante plays on the Italian word for that flower. The violet was a token of modesty and of a young bride, and the reading fits the rest. Her hair falls loose, as a bride's would, and the fingers of one hand form a soft V. Painted around 1515 by the young Titian, she has the warm skin and unhurried presence that would make his portraits of Venetian women famous across Europe.