Who was Raphael’s La Fornarina?

Between 1518 and 1520 the painter Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known today as Raphael, finished a painting of a woman so erotically explicit that it was said to arouse the deepest sensual feelings in the beholder. With a smile that resembles that of Mona Lisa, her beauty has enchanted us for 500 years. But who was she?

Raphael, La Fornarina, 1518-20. Oil on canvas, 85 x 60 cm. Palazzo Barberini, Roma.

The half-length nude portrait La Fornarina (fig. 1) shows a seated nude woman against a dark landscape. The patches of blue, anchoring the panel’s corners to the sky, peek out from the dark green vegetation. The subtle use of chiaroscuro carries the woman forward, her eyes gazing out at the viewer. The red cloak covers her lower body, penetrating the transparent veil that she draws up to cover herself and leaving her naval and breast exposed. It is a sensuous portrait of a young woman. 

A Lover of Raphael

But who does it portray? Scholars have debated whether the painting depicts the ancient goddess Venus, or if she is based on a true life figure that Raphael took as his lover. The latter is suggested by Joanne Bernstein, claiming in her essay on Renaissance models that “the use of a live model accounts for the physicality, fullness and sensuality of a woman”. Thereby she claims that the portrait of the young lady is based on a true figure in the life of Raphael. Evidence to support this is provided by Vasari’s accounts. In his Lives of the Artists Giorgio Vasari spoke of Raphael’s amorous nature, ascribing his sudden death at the age of thirty-seven to a fever contracted after a night of lovemaking. 

Some scholars suggest that she may have been Margarita Luti from Siena, referred to in contemporary documents as a lover of Raphael. Margarita Luti was the widowed daughter of Francesco Luti of Siena who entered a convent for fallen women in Rome four months after Raphael’s death. Although the woman in Vasari’s accounts is not mentioned by name, several sources make the assumption that she was in fact Margarita and that Raphael used her as a model for several of his paintings. 

Raphael, La Donna Velata (Woman with a veil), 1516. Oil on canvas, 82 x 60,5 cm. Palazzo Pitti, Florence.

In 1516 Raphael painted a portrait of the very same woman which further strengthen the assumption that Raphael had a personal relationship with her. La Donna Velata (fig. 2), painted by Raphael only two years earlier, shows what seems to resemble the very same woman as La Fornarina only clothed, seated in the same pose, with   the same hand gestures. This is, indeed, an element that is hard to overlook. 

Venus in disguise

The woman’s assumed identity suggests that she is mortal. However, some scholars claim that the nudity, the symbolic foliage and the very specific gestures suggest a mythological figure. The bracelet on her upper arm is of an antique type, known from extant examples that depict Venus and the Three Graces. Another characteristic trait that suggests she is Venus is the foliage. It includes several different plants, some of them characteristic of Venus. Another significant feature is her pose; the left hand emphasizes her already covered genitals, whereas the right hand presses down on her breast and offers up the nipple. This is a gesture derived from the ancient statues of the Venus Pudica type, as we recognize in Titians Venus of Urbino (fig. 3) dated 1538.

Titian, Venus of Urbino (La donna nuda), 1538. Oil on canvas, 190 x 165 cm. Uffizi Gallery, Florence.

The Capitoline Venus, Roman marble copy of Greek original, modelled after the Cnidian Aphrodite by Praxiteles 4th century BC, slightly over life-size. The Capitoline Museum, Rome. Private photo.

However, Raphael’s portrait has a clear absence of mythological attributes. We can therefore disclaim the assumption that the woman portrayed is Venus herself because it goes against the typical iconography of mythological motifs. Instead, I argue that the woman is modelled after Venus. The pose of the woman suggests that she is inspired by the Venus Pudica (fig. 4), whereas the foliage may suggest a presence of Venus, meaning that the painting is filled with symbols of the goddess of love. It may be the case that Raphael chose to portray his lover in this manner; as modelled after Venus, loading the painting with mythological connotations. 

The presented elements suggest that this is a painting of love. This is well indicated by the fact that Raphael has inscribed his own name on the woman’s bracelet. Scholars have debated whether this was just a clever way of signing his painting, or if it is a way of implying that the woman belongs to the painter. The most realistic answer, based on evidence shown, is that the armband indicated his proprietary claim to her, a statement that according to art historian James Turner would have been inappropriate for a sitter who had no personal connection to the artist. He suggests that the painting was made for Raphael’s own pleasure and is therefore to be associated with his lover.  

To me the painting demonstrates a woman shaped after Venus, the goddess of love. It is my belief that Raphael mirrored his lover after Venus, and that the painting shows an image of an idealized beauty. That ideal is also symbolized by the pearl adorned in her hair. The jewel, whose opalescent white sheen was regarded as the equivalent of perfect female beauty, connoted “purity, virginity and material chastity”, virtues that are imputed to the sitter. The unidentified lady seems indeed like a synthesis of the best features of many –  as pictured by a man deeply in love.

Bibliography 

Bernstein, Joanne. “The Female Model and the Renaissance Nude: Dürer, Giorgione, and Raphael”. Artibus et Historiae 13, nr. 26 (1992): 49-63.

Turner, James G.  “Profane Love: The Challenge of Sexuality”. In Art and Love in Renaissance Italy, edited by Andrea Bayer. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2008. 

Vasari, Girogio. Lives of the Most Eminent Painters, Sculptors and Architects. Translated from Italian by Jonathan Foster. London: Bell & Daldy, 1865. Digital copy provided by Harvard University Library.