an air of familiarity between the subject and the viewer; she is not blank and staring into the eyes of the viewer like portraits of wealthy women, but rather is looking towards the viewer with a half smile like a passing acquaintance. The subject is wearing a yellow scarf across her head that during the Renaissance implied that the woman was a sex worker. Yellow scarves were a requirement for "dishonest women" to wear, these women were ones who willingly took off their clothing for artists which resulted in inspiration for much of the nude art pieces during the Renaissance. If a woman was wearing a yellow scarf across her head, she could show her naked body without prosecution. Courtesans were widely used in European culture beginning during the Renaissance; their existence and their depiction was a way for people to explore sexual relationships based on the ideals of classical writings on the subject. See also List of paintings by Raphael La velata, another Raphael painting of the same sitter References External links Official website page Page at artonline.it Page at borghese.gallery (in English, Spanish, and Italian) 1519 paintings Portraits by Raphael Collections of the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica Portraits of women Nude art