The subject of the painting is María Cayetana de Silva, 13th Duchess of Alba, then 35 years old.

[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].

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.