She spoke four languages fluently and her beauty and elegance had granted her many male admirers, like the poet Gabriele d'Annunzio and Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany.

The original version of the work depicted Donna Franca wrapped in a regal black evening dress embellished with various golden embroidery, also equipped with long sleeves with inlays on the cuffs.

[3] Franca's body, wrapped in the swirling folds of the black velvet dress, is outlined by long and snappy brushstrokes, rightly defined by critics as "saber strokes", with which Boldini seems to "crystallize" the splendid appearance of his sitter.

[4] The canvas, exhibited at the Venice Biennale in 1903, was only completed in 1924: in that year, however, the Florio family was suffering a terrible economic collapse and was therefore unable to purchase it.

The work was put back on sale at Christie's by Rothschild's descendants on 1 November 1995, and then reappeared on auctions on 25 October 2005, when it was sold at Sotheby's New York City and purchased by the Acqua Marcia Society by Francesco Bellavista Caltagirone, owner of several luxury hotels in Sicily.