She was a muse and mistress of German painter Anselm Feuerbach,[1] who admired her beauty so much that he painted her at least twenty times.

[2] Risi was married to a cobbler and lived in Trastevere, a village neighborhood in Rome with a history as working class.

Her striking features caught the eye of various artists who came to the city for inspiration, and she modeled for a number of paintings and sculptures in her early 20s.

Leighton's series of paintings of Risi caught the eye of the Prince of Wales and other notables, canonizing her forever.

Feuerbach and his family did much to improve Risi's circumstances and style, but the artist was irritable and suffered from syphilis.