Portrait of Anna Maria Borghese, born de Ferrari (1874-1924)

This portrait of Anna Maria Borghese, née de Ferrari (1874–1924), dated 1880, presents a chronological puzzle: if the subject was born in 1874, she would have been only six years old in 1880, suggesting either a date revision is needed or the work is a childhood portrait. The Borghese family was one of the great aristocratic dynasties of Rome, and a portrait commission from or for such a family — even a childhood portrait — would have been a significant undertaking. Corcos's connections with Italian aristocratic families grew through the 1880s and 1890s as his reputation expanded, and a childhood portrait of a Borghese by marriage would fit within the tradition of aristocratic families commissioning records of their children's youth.

If indeed painted in 1880 when Corcos was twenty-four and his subject was approximately six, the work would represent his early technique before the full development of his mature approach. Early career portraits often show a somewhat tighter, more cautious handling compared to the confident fluency of his later work, with greater reliance on smooth, careful drawing and less atmospheric looseness in the background.