This delicate small portrait can be dated between the 1640s and 1650s based on costume details such as the wide and transparent collar, which modestly covers the young woman’s shoulders, and the hairstyle, with hair allowed to fall in wavy cascades on both sides of the face and tied at the ends with two black bows (similar solutions can be found in the Portrait of Maria Leopoldina of Austria, daughter of Claudia de’ Medici, Archduchess of Tyrol, by the naturalized Florentine Justus Suttermans, dated 1647).

The present little portrait – perhaps a token of love in anticipation of a matrimonial union – also appears related to Florentine culture and, in particular, seems close to the vivid female figures by Giovanni Martinelli, who, although also an author of frescoes and altarpieces, was especially distinguished for his many allegorical images portrayed by women depicted in half-length. Beyond the physiognomic specificity of the effigy, Martinelli’s manner is evident in the shape of the eyes, emphasized by pensive eyelids, and the volumetric modeling of the broad nose and chin; as well as the light complexion on which the vermilion of the lips stands out. Recurrent in almost all of Martinelli’s female figures – a kind of signature – is also the cord tied around the neck, with one end hanging toward the neckline, here enriched by a jewel that matches the earring and the pearl necklace, suggesting the high rank of the effigy. The smoky application that characterizes his large-scale canvas works here transforms, due to the nature of the medium and the small format, into a technique of minute and trembling touches that animate the light reflections on the hair and the feather ornamented on the girl’s nape, as can be found in another small oval portrait, a Portrait of a Young Woman, attributed to Martinelli.