Focus on this artwork and explore the abstract.
The Portrait of a Young Woman (also known as La fornarina) is a painting by the  Italian High Renaissance master Raphael, made between 1518 and 1519. It is in the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica in Palazzo Barberini, Rome.
It is probable that the picture was in the painter's studio at his death in 1520, and that it was modified and then sold by his assistant Giulio Romano.Art-history tradition or legend identifies the woman as the fornarina ("baker" or "baker's daughter")  Margherita Luti, Raphael's Roman lover who refused to marry him, though this identification has been questioned. An alternative view sees the work not as a portrait of a specific woman, but rather as Raphael's interpretation of a belle donne genre and a depiction of a courtesan. Still another interpretation identifies the figure as a witch.
Raphael  Margherita Luti belle donne courtesan High Renaissance Rome Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica Giulio Romano  Italian Palazzo Barberini