It apparently shows a female artist starting on her painting, having sketched the outline of the head of a portrait.

For a long time, the painting was attributed to the Italian artist Artemisia Gentileschi.

[2] A watch with a pink ribbon attached to it sits on the easel, but the precise reason for its inclusion is not known.

Since the person depicted in this painting does not resemble the woman on the right in the Triumph of Bacchus (Wautier), widely believed to be a self-portrait of Michaelina Wautier due to both per prominence and her gaze out at the viewer, Janel Sanzsalzar has suggested that the painting of the woman at the easel is a portrait of Anna Maria van Schurman rather than a self-portrait.

[3] There is no known engraving, identified as a portrait of Michaelina Wautier, that can be compared with either supposed painted self-portrait to confirm the identification of the sitter.