La Bella is a portrait of a woman by Titian in the Palazzo Pitti in Florence. The painting shows the subject with the ideal proportions for Renaissance women. In parallel the stringent composition corresponds to Titian's real portraits. The work can be dated by a letter about "that portrait of that woman in a blue dress" in May 1536. Description The portrait represents a young beauty in a blue dress with decollete and rich gold ornaments against a dark background. She points with her left hand to a zibellino draped over her right forearm. The woman corresponds perfectly to all the ideals of beauty of the time with possibly the only exception of "only medium" blond hair. In parallel, the stringent composition as a three-quarter figure and the rich clothing correspond to Titian's courtly portraits of the 1530s. The head shows similarities with three eroticised paintings by Titian from the same period, although it remains open whether it is the same person, model or ideal of beauty: Girl in a Fur, c. 1536, Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna Girl with Feather Hat, c. 1536, Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg Venus of Urbino, c. 1538, Uffizi in Florence History The painting came to Florence in 1631 as part of the inheritance of Vittoria della Rovere. It is first documented in the della Rovere collection in the inventory of Ducal Palace of Pesaro in 1623/24. Based on this provenance, it is identified as "that portrait of that woman in the blue dress" in a letter from Francesco Maria I della Rovere to his agent in Venice dated 2 May 1536. Letter "that woman in a blue dress" "… You shall say to Titian that we cannot imagine anything better for our lady the Duchess [his wife Eleonora Gonzaga], than what we have spoken of, that is, a Resurrection, which we are certain will please her, and that therefore he must put his soul and thoughts to this, and that he attend to those other things; and [as for] that portrait of that woman in a blue dress, we desire that it be finished, with everything made beautiful, and with the timpano [tympanum, or protective curtain], because that way we will be able to see how the others will turn out …" "… Direte al Titiano, che noi in effetto non sappiamo pensar' meglio per la signora Duchessa nostra [his wife Eleonora Gonzaga], di