Flora in the flesh: Palma Vecchio's A Blonde Woman

Like many women in Renaissance portraits she holds flowers, and this could signify she was Flora, the Roman goddess of spring. In mythology, Zephyr, personifying the wind, chases a nymph called Chloris who blooms into Flora. Perhaps this Venetian woman’s exposed breast could be a symbol of spring fertility. But it is not likely. Flora was also the name of a famous Roman prostitute, and this is probably a portrait of a Venetian courtesan Illustration: The National Gallery, London/PR