It was constructed for the grave of his wife Elizabeth Boott Duveneck, (known as Lizzy (1846–1888), also an artist) at the Cimitero degli Allori, outside Florence, Italy.

Although primarily a painter, Frank Duveneck produced a number of sculptures, assisted in their design by the sculptor Clement Barnhorn.

She had been raised in a wealthy family and was a long-term friend of the author Henry James, who also looked down on Duveneck.

[3][4] The monument's design incorporates elements from both Gothic and Renaissance recumbent effigies, coupled with a 19th-century outlook on death.

The dominant feature is the ribbed and expressive palm branch strewn across her body, which art historians assume represents the optimistic Christian belief that death is temporary rather than eternal.