Carl Ferdinand Sohn is regarded as one of the leading painters of the Düsseldorf School. He studied at the Berlin Academy before joining the newly formed Düsseldorf School under Wilhelm von Schadow in 1826, where he himself took up a professorship in 1832. Sohn became known above all for his portraits and idealised depictions of women, which combined classical pictorial traditions with the Romantic spirit of his era. Over the course of generations, he influenced not only his pupils but also his own family, from whom well-known artists emerged. The young woman’s entire demeanour and appearance bring to mind a reinterpretation of the Mona Lisa. Similarities can be seen in the position of her hands, the low-cut dress, the fabric around her chest woven with precious gold threads, the sheer fabrics that resemble veils, her gaze towards the viewer, the slightly turned posture, the same framing of the portrait, and, not least, the mysterious landscape in the background. Sohn seems to have taken all these details on board, whilst at the same time reinterpreting them and transposing them into his own era.