In Portrait of a Young Woman (Pollaiuolo), how is the History discussed?
The work is one of the most celebrated and best preserved Renaissance portraits of a woman in profile of those attributed to one of the two Pollaiuolo brothers. It is often compared to Portrait of a Woman at the Uffizi, as well as to similar portraits held in the Staatliche Museen, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Similar facial features can also be seen in Portrait of a Girl by Andrea della Robbia. These works have traditionally been attributed to Piero del Pollaiuolo, but recent critics, such as Aldo Galli, have proposed attributions to Antonio.
The identity of the subject of the portrait in Milan is unclear. Various names have been proposed, including the wife of the banker Giovanni de' Bardi (based on the probably false inscription on the work's verso "UXOR JOHANNIS DE BARDI"), Marietta Strozzi, or a woman of the Belgioioso family. 
In the 19th century, the painting was reported by Giovanni Battista Cavalcaselle as being in the Borromeo family collections. It is not known when Gian Giacomo Poldi Pezzoli inherited the work from his mother's family, the Trivulzio. It was, however, transferred to the newly founded Museo Poldi Pezzoli in 1879. The painting was restored to good condition in 1951 by M. Pellicioli. A synthetic transposition of the portrait, created by Italo Lupi, symbolizes the two Ps in the logo of the museum today.
Portrait of a Woman Borromeo family Uffizi Belgioioso family Italo Lupi Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Museo Poldi Pezzoli Staatliche Museen Gian Giacomo Poldi Pezzoli Giovanni Battista Cavalcaselle Piero del Pollaiuolo Andrea della Robbia Antonio Metropolitan Museum of Art profile