Alessandro Allori painted this elegant portrait of an anonymous lady early in his career, most likely during the 1550s. At this time he was very much influenced by the portraiture of his teacher and foster father, Agnolo Bronzino (1503-1572), who had raised and trained Allori from early childhood after Allori’s father died. The similarities with Bronzino's famous portraits of Eleonora of Toledo led earlier owners of this painting to believe it was the work of Bronzino.

From both Bronzino and Michelangelo, Allori developed his sculptural portraiture style that lent gravitas to his wealthy and noble sitters. He achieved that effect here with the sitter’s porcelain skin and perfectly symmetrical facial features. Allori’s portraits are also characterized by calligraphic decoration on the costume, such as can be seen here on the fine gold and lace bodice of the lady’s dress, the tight curls framing her face, and the silver embroidery on her dress. A similar approach to the facial features and detailed costume is evident in the Portrait of a Young Man now in the Musée d'Art et Archaéologie Laon (fig. 1).