Portrait of a Courtesan

Caravaggio's Portrait of a Courtesan from around 1590, now in Berlin, is among his earliest surviving works, painted when he had recently arrived in Rome from Milan and was beginning to find his market. The subject — a recognizable contemporary woman in the dress of a courtesan, rendered with the directness of a specific observed model — exemplified the genre subjects of his early career before the major religious commissions established his reputation. The courtesan portrait was both a demonstration of his ability to render specific female beauty and a social document of the world of Roman entertainment culture that provided his early models and social milieu.

The portrait demonstrates Caravaggio's early style with natural lighting and direct observation of the sitter's features. The limited palette and plain background focus attention on the woman's face and costume, rendered with the artist's characteristic commitment to reality.