This depicts Luisa Bergalli, a celebrated writer in 18th Century Venice. She studied in the library of the erudite poet and aristocratic man of letters, Apostolo Zeno, and was also friends with the renowned pastellist Rosalba Carriera.
In 1725 Bergalli staged the première of her melodrama, Agide re di Sparta, which received enthusiastic reviews. During her long and successful career she devoted herself to different theatrical genres, such as melodrama, tragedy and comedy, but she never abandoned her passion for poetry. Bergalli also translated many ancient texts, notably Terentius' comedies, and published an anthology of female poets (I Componimenti poetici delle più illustri rimatrici d'ogni secolo, Venice, 1726).