Carlotta Belloni (1836-1903), wife of a banker, loses her daughter of just 12 years and, widowed, in her will divides her patrimony between welfare and charitable associations including the Ospedale Maggiore, which receives 50,000 lire. Only 70,000 lire is retained for friends, relatives and service personnel. The commission of the portrait is assigned to Giovanni Maria Rastellini, a painter who worked in this period in Milan, before returning to his native Val Vigezzo.