[2] The Portrait of the Duchess of Alba was painted in 1797 by Spanish painter Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes.

It is among a number of works by Goya representing María Cayetana de Silva, 13th Duchess of Alba[a].

While the Black Duchess may have been done at the subject's request, at the time of her death it remained in the possession of the artist.

It was sold by Goya's son Javier and had various owners before being acquired in 1906 by Archer Milton Huntington and moved to the USA.

While a number of people, including Carlos Saura, the film's director and writer, have made the assumption that the Goya and the Duchess were lovers,[11] the opinion that she was the model for La maja desnuda is a minority one.