La condesa de Baena

This work appears to correspond to A Clothed Maja Lying Down (more than a vara) as described by Antonio Brugada in his inventory of the paintings discovered in the Quinta del Sordo in 1828. The identification of the woman it depicts as the Countess of Baena is uncertain. The compositional similarity to The Clothed Maja is very clear, although the technical execution of this work, and as the inscription also says, shows that it was made later.

Here the woman is also lying down, on top of a sumptuous divan upholstered in red. She is dressed elegantly in an outfit composed of a black skirt and white bodice, with a black mantilla on her head and long white gloves covering her arms up to the elbow. Her heads rests upon her arm, and she is leaning against the padded cushions of the divan. Her face is serious and thoughtful, with a penetrating gaze. The background behind her is dark and neutral.