Portrait of a Lady in White

Portrait of a Lady in White
Artist	Titian
Year	c. 1561
Medium	Oil on canvas
Location	Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden

Portrait of a Lady in White is a painting by Titian, made about 1561, of an unknown gentlewoman dressed in white. It is now in the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, in Dresden.

Identity of the sitter

Speculation about the sitter has ranged from a young bride to a prostitute or some family member of the artist.[1] Detailed analysis of her jewelry, dress and hairstyle may give more clues, as does the fan she is carrying. It has long been assumed that Titian had depicted his daughter Lavinia in her bridal gown. However, she married six years before this painting was created, and his fourth child and other daughter, Emilia, didn't marry for another seven years. Titian probably created an ideal image of feminine beauty and used a model that he also used in other paintings. The painting was copied by Peter Paul Rubens, and a similar painting is also in the collection at Dresden.

Exhibitions

The painting was lent to the Columbus Museum of Art in 2018, and to the Norton Simon Museum in 2019.[2][1]

Copies

• 
  Copy by Rubens, c. 1614
• 
  Miniature after a lost Titian
• 
  Copy of a lost Titian, c. 1650
• 
  Engraving of a lost Titian, 1660

Related portraits

• 
  Portrait of a Lady, c. 1555
• 
  Portrait of Hurrem Sultan, c. 1550
• 
  Portrait of Lavinia, 1545
• 
  Portrait of Lavinia, 1560–1565

References

1. Who Was The 'Lady In White'? Titian Painted A Mystery Masterpiece, interview on NPR, February 2019
2. Titian’s Lady in White on show from August 31, 2018 – December 9, 2018 on CMOA website