The subject of this portrait is likely Germaine Gargallo (1880–1948). When she refused the marriage proposal of Picasso’s friend and roommate, Carles Casagemas (1880–1901), tragedy followed. In a drunken rage, Casagemas shot Gargallo in the head (grazing her temple), and then turned the gun on himself. His death and Picasso’s resulting grief led, in part, to the artist’s Blue Period, which explored themes of despair and isolation.