The identity of the woman in this portrait is debated. Recent research suggests that the sitter could be Vittoria Colonna, a renowned writer and member of the wealthy and powerful Colonna family of the Italian Renaissance.

The sitter is represented here as Artemisia, a goddess associated with death, represented by the silver cup held in her hand. If the picture does indeed represent Vittoria Colonna, she is depicted in mourning for her young husband Ferrante d’Alavos, Marchese of Pescara, who had died from wounds sustained at the Battle of Pavia in 1525.