Portrait of a Young Woman

Among the many female busts attributed to Desiderio, this is certainly the most beautiful and the one that embodies to the highest degree the characteristics of his vision. The subtle relationship between the stylistic harmony of profile and schiacciato and the naturalistic development of the forms in space is mirrored in the expressive unity between the “very great grace and loveliness” (Vasari) of the sitter's physical appearance and her psychological definition, which lives on very subtle popular nuances that temper the displayed aristocratic detachment.