Portrait of a Lady (Titian, Chicago)

Portrait of a Lady, formerly known as Portrait of Giulia Gonzaga, is an oil painting by, or possibly after, Titian. It is dated, broadly, to the period 1525–1565. The painting is in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Description
The attribution of this picture is uncertain, although it has long been associated with Titian. It is related to La Bella and Girl in a Fur. It has usually been entitled Portrait of Giulia Gonzaga, but the identification with the Italian noblewoman of that name is no longer accepted; it is now entitled simply Portrait of a Lady.

Condition
The painting is in poor condition, and was cleaned of earlier inpainting in the 1960s. Some paint and ground has been lost in the upper background and in the sitter's hair. The surface of the paint is abraded in places in the background, on the left side of the sitter's face, and on her bosom.

Provenance

 * Private Collection, Italy.
 * Sold by Böhler and Steinmeyer, New York, to Max Epstein (died 1954), Chicago, between 1928 and 1930.
 * Bequeathed to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1954.

Versions
There is one other version in a private collection in Italy, and there is a copy of the Chicago portrait in the Museo Cerralbo in Madrid.