In The Lady with a Fan (Velázquez), how is the Ownership discussed?
The Lady with a Fan was first recorded in the collection of Lucien Bonaparte in the early 19th century. It is believed that Bonaparte acquired it in Spain when he was there in 1801. But because there was no earlier record of the painting in any Spanish collection, it is also possible that he acquired it either in England or in Italy, where he spent most of the period of the Napoleonic Wars, or even in France, where Bonaparte met the then duke of Luynes, a direct descendant of the duchess of Chevreuse. Bonaparte's collection was sold in 1816.  After further sales, in 1847 the painting was bought by Richard Seymour-Conway, 4th Marquess of Hertford (1800-1870), and on his death passed to his son Sir Richard Wallace and so to the Wallace Collection.
Lucien Bonaparte Sir Richard Wallace Wallace Collection duchess of Chevreuse Richard Seymour-Conway, 4th Marquess of Hertford Spanish Napoleonic Wars Italy duke of Luynes England