 Woods-Marsden cites Hans Memling's portrait of Benedetto Portinari (1487) or Italian imitations such as for the use of a "loggia", which has the effect of mediating between the sitter and the distant landscape, a feature missing from Leonardo's earlier portrait of "Ginevra de' Benci".The painting was one of the first portraits to depict the sitter in front of an imaginary landscape, and Leonardo was one of the first painters to use aerial perspective.The enigmatic woman is portrayed seated in what appears to be an open loggia with dark pillar bases on either side.