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Formerly it was assumed that the sitter was a chambermaid of Infanta Isabella, the Governess of Netherlands. However, it is believed - because of the similarity to a drawing of Isabella Brandt (Rubens' first wife) in the British Museum, London - to be a posthumous portrait of Rubens' daughter Clara Serena (1611-1623).
Rubens restrains his explosive temperament and paints not the flesh but the feeling, finding the finest nuances of his favourite colours: red in the girl's face, golden ochre in the hair, and lapis lazuli in the lace.
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