María del Pilar Teresa Cayetana de Silva Alvarez de Toledo became the 13th duchess of Alba in 1776. Her marriage to José Álvarez de Toledo, 11th Marquis of Villafranca, made her and her husband the wealthiest couple in the Kingdom of Spain; their only rivals to this title were the House of Osuna. The duchess' relationship with famed Spanish painter Francisco Goya and her somewhat eccentric personality have contributed greatly to a continuing interest in her life during the two centuries since her death. Goya executed several well-known portraits of the duchess, most of them during his stay at Sanlúcar de Barrameda, shortly after the death of her husband, the Duke of Alba, who was also Duke of Medina Sidonia, in 1796. Goya's accompaniment of the recently widowed duchess combined with certain innuendo expressed in his portraits of her have exacerbated rumors that the two were lovers. Although this has never been confirmed, the sheer number of portraits the artist painted of the duchess certainly suggests, at the very least, a close platonic relationship between the two. The painting La maja desnuda, executed between 1797 and 1800 by Goya, has also been rumored to portray her. The painting, considered scandalous by Spanish society of the time, depicts a fully nude reclining woman. It, together with a companion piece depicting the same model clothed, La maja vestida, was commissioned by Spanish Prime MinisterManuel de Godoy. The true identity of the Majas is uncertain. Many art historians over the years have rejected the possibility that the painting depicts the duchess, including Australian art criticRobert Hughes in his 2003 biography, Goya. Those scholars believe that the painting depicts either Godoy's young mistress Pepita Tudó or an idealized composite of several different models.
Death and succession
The duchess died under somewhat mysterious circumstances in July 1802 at the age of 40. Although her death was ostensibly due to tuberculosis and a fever, more colorful scenarios have been suggested over the years, among them a theory that she was poisoned. She had no biological issue although she did have an adoptive daughter, known as María de la Luz. After her death, the title duke of Alba passed to a relative, Carlos Miguel Fitz-James Stuart, who became the 14th duke of Alba.
