Elisabetta Gonzaga by Raphael in Pushkin museum (2016) by shakko 01

The Duchess is depicted with a stoic expression, wearing a black dress adorned with a geometric gold pattern. A thin black cord around her forehead holds a small scorpion-shaped jewel, and a simple gold chain rests on her chest. The background features the soft, hazy hills and blue sky characteristic of early 16th-century Italian landscape painting.

Elisabetta Gonzaga was the patroness of the court of Urbino and the central figure of Baldassare Castiglione's 'The Book of the Courtier'. This text is a primary source for understanding Renaissance Neoplatonism as applied to social conduct and the pursuit of virtue within the courtly environment.