Prospero Fontana was an Italian painter of the later Renaissance. He was born and lived most of his life in Bologna. In this painting, Ritratto di gentildonna, he portrayed a noblewoman with a large goiter. Goiter was relatively common during the XVI century in Italy, especially among people living in the mountains, and today we know that this was due to iodine deficiency. This is the reason why people with goiter were often portrayed in Renaissance paintings and drawings.
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