The White Duchess

The White Duchess is a life sized (192 x 128 cm) oil-on-canvas painting by the Spanish artist Francisco Goya, completed in 1795.

[2] María Cayetana de Silva was then 33 years old (middle aged for the time) and had recently recovered from a lengthy illness.

She points with the index finger of her right hand towards an inscription on the ground, which includes Goya's autograph, a dating of 1795 and "A la duquesa de Alba Fr.

Skeptics argue that because de Silva was famously beautiful, wealthy, and independent she would not have been interested in the successful but significantly older and unwell Goya.

[4] Art Historian Janis Tomlinston wrote in 1994 that "no matter how liberal a patron she might have been, it seems unlikely that she would have accepted a portrait that so mercilessly emphasized her pride and hauteur".

The Black Duchess , 1797, Hispanic Society of America , New York. Here de Silva is dressed in low cut Maja clothing. She may have agreed to this depiction in the expectation that it would portray her as a "woman of the people". [ 4 ] Goya was reluctant to part with the portrait; it remained with him for at least 15 years after it was completed. [ 2 ]