In La maja desnuda, how is the Identity of the model discussed?
It has been conjectured that the woman depicted was Prime Minister Godoy's young mistress Pepita Tudó. It has also been suggested that the woman was María del Pilar Teresa Cayetana de Silva y Álvarez de Toledo, 13th Duchess of Alba, with whom Goya is rumored to have been romantically involved and whose portrait he painted twice (in 1795 and 1797). However, many scholars have rejected this possibility, including Australian art critic Robert Hughes in his 2003 biography Goya. Many agree that Pepita Tudó is a more likely candidate. Others believe that the woman is a composite of several different models.
The word maja is the feminine form of majo, a low-class Spaniard of the 18th and 19th century.
Pepita Tudó Robert Hughes Goya majo maja María del Pilar Teresa Cayetana de Silva y Álvarez de Toledo, 13th Duchess of Alba