Emmeline Deane
The sitter in this dramatic and melancholic portrait is Polish artist Anna Bilińska-Bohdanowicz. Emmeline Deane probably met the sitter in Paris in 1884, where both women were training at the celebrated Académie Julian. This was one of the few art schools in Europe that was open to female students in the 19th century. We don’t know anything about their relationship, but given the compassion evident in this painting, it’s fair to assume that artist and sitter were close. In this portrait, Anna is shown wearing typical mourning dress, with what may be a black feather fan resting on her lap. In 1884, Anna’s father had died leaving her impoverished. A year later her fiancé also died.
In deep despair, she traveled around France sketching and painting landscapes. After marrying in 1892, she had plans to set up an art school for women in Warsaw but died tragically young of heart disease, so her dream was never realized.
P.S. Here's another female artist who often portrayed women in her paintings, the famous Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun!