Luísa Guimarães Guedes was the daughter of Delfim Guedes, Count of Almedina, inspector of the Academia Real de Belas Artes de Lisboa and a prominent figure in the artistic world. The artist’s development of the work is documented in drawings and maquettes.
The finished version shows the complex elaboration of the modelling, especially in the hair, flowers and embroidery of the dress. In terms of composition, they are defining traits of a highly particular Soares dos Reis’ scheme: the sinuous pose with the model’s arms crossing at mid-body, treated at rest, with a reserved expression.