The painting entered the Civic Museums, by donation in 1966 from the Gadda Gadda collection, with the wrong attribution to Francesco Hayez, due to the inscription on the painting bearing the initials FH Bottom left. In reality, the theme song was added later and has nothing to do with Hayez's signature. The characteristics of the painting are typical of Molteni's portraiture and can be compared to his production between the thirties and forties, as confirmed by the dress and the hairstyle. With the choice of the monochrome background, the painter distances himself from the usual formula of the portrait set, comparing himself, instead, with the more essential portraiture of Hayez, which enhances the physiognomy, the expression and the psychology of the subject. On the other hand, Molteni's virtuosity in rendering the material consistency of the fabrics, the details of the hairstyle and the dress remains completely amazing. Characteristics that made it much loved and requested by the beautiful Milanese world.