Portrait of a Young Woman

A young woman, wearing a crimson robe and pearl necklace from which a gold cross is suspended, stands in an imaginary architectural setting. An opening into what appears to be a brightly lit courtyard reveals a precarious, twisting flight of stairs. A man in a dark costume stands at the top, apparently watching the woman below.

The inscription above the lady’s right shoulder says she is 19 years old. However, her untucked translucent shawl, sideways glance and bold hand on her hip suggest she might not have been as demure as her cross implies. She may have been a beautiful courtesan.

The picture was possibly made to hang to the left of a painting of a young man, maybe the lady’s betrothed or her lover. This would explain her sidelong glance and the light falling from the right, which is very unusual in Bordone’s work.

Text: © The National Gallery, London

Painting photographed in its frame by Google Arts & Culture, 2023.