Doña Marianna Stampa Parravicina (born 1612), Condesa di Segrate

Inscription: Inscribed (upper left): D.MARIANA STAM / PA PARAVICINA CONTE / SA DI SANGRATE

Helen Hay (Mrs. Payne) Whitney, New York (until d. 1944; as "Portrait of a Queen" in the Manner of Zuchero, pendant to 45.128.14)

Josephine L. Allen and Elizabeth E. Gardner. A Concise Catalogue of the European Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1954, p. 91.

Barbara Duncan. Gloria in Excelsis: The Virgin and Angels in Viceregal Painting of Peru and Bolivia. Exh. cat., Center for Inter-American Relations. New York, 1985, p. 38, ill., illustrates the picture to demonstrate the influence of Spanish court dress on "dressed-statue" paintings of the Virgin in Spain and the Americas.

Katharine Baetjer. European Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art by Artists Born Before 1865: A Summary Catalogue. New York, 1995, p. 156, ill.

Alfonso E. Pérez Sánchez. Letter to Dulce Roman. December 29, 1996, believes the portrait to be Italian, possibly Lombard, from about 1610–15; observes that the "arquitectura en fugas" [presumably the view of receding doorways in the background] is uncommon in Spain and that the open lace collar is not specifically Spanish.

Maria Kusche. Letter to Dulce Roman. March 29, 1997, tentatively suggests that it is related to [Rodrigo de] Villandrando [Madrid, active about 1608–20, d. 1622, pupil and collaborator of Juan Pantoja de la Cruz].

The woman portrayed here must be Marianna Stampa di Milano, whose name appears in Litta, Famiglie celebri italiane (vol. 11, fascicolo 132, 1851, tavola V: "Stampa di Milano"). She was born in 1612 and was the daughter of Ermete Stampa di Milano and Elisabetta di Camillo Barbó, Marchese di Soresina. She married Francesco Parravicini, Conte di Segrate, and later, Conte Giovanni Marliani.

Marianna's ornate brocade costume is typical of Spanish court dress of the early seventeenth century. The shape of her stomacher is particularly important for dating this picture. During the early seventeenth century, it became gradually wider at the waist and hips as well as longer at the bottom. By the 1630s, it had acquired the shape shown in The Met's portrait. Based on a comparison with other examples from this period, the portrait can be dated to about 1630–35. The type of open lace collar seen here was worn in northern Italy, particularly in Lombardy, and can be seen in portraits from the 1630s by Carlo Ceresa and Carlo Francesco Nuvolone.