Portrait of Infanta Maria d’Aziz of Portugal, wife of Duke Alessandro Farnese and Hereditary Princess of Parma and Piacenza, wearing a
richly embroidered gown and jewellery,
oil on canvas, oval, 59 x 37.5 cm, framed

The present painting is closely related to two other portraits, one in the Galleria Nazionale di Parma, Palazzo della Pilotta (oil on panel,
19.2 x 15.4 cm), and another, given to the studio of Anthonis Mor, in the Pinacoteca Stuard, Parma (oil on canvas, 49 x 34 cm).

Whilst the portrait in the Pinacoteca Stuard undoubtedly is the most accomplished of the three versions, the present painting with its detailed depiction of the princess richly embroidered gown and jewellery is a significant example of late Renaissance court portraiture and an interesting rediscovery. There has not yet been a convincing attribution for this composition which may have been commissioned as a present to a foreign court. Gloria Martinez and Paolo Bertelli have suggested an attribution to the studio of Anthonis Mor (1517–1577).

Maria d’ Aviz was a Daughter of Duarte of Portugal, Duke of Guimares, one of the sons of King Manuel I. of Portugal, and Princess Isabella of Braganza. Due to an alliance formed by Philipp II of Spain and Ottavio Farnese, a marriage was arranged for her and the then Prince Alessandro Farnese. After leaving Lisbon in 1565, the wedding was celebrated in Brussels, the wedding mass itself was led by Maximilan de Berghes. It appears highly likely that the present portrait, or perhaps a now lost prototype, was commissioned in Flanders during the wedding celebrations, probably from Anthonis Mor. Otto van Veen (1556–1629), who worked for Alessandro Farnese as court painter in Brussels, when the Duke of Parma was Governor of the Spanish Netherlands, is also a possible candidate.

As her husband was one of the most important military leaders of the house of Habsburg, Maria resided in Parma, where she was popular. Despite his reported infidelities, the marriage appears to have been a happy one, with three children surviving infancy, among them Ranuccio Farnese, Duke of Parma.