Celebrated Spanish singer, composer, and pianist. The sitter, who is portrayed with sympathy and affection, was a pianist, composer and, at the time the painting was executed, a contralto of the Royal Chamber. The inscription in Italian in the upper edge expresses the sitter´s qualities as a person and an artist, Né men ch´in viso bella in suono é dolce (A face no less lovely than her voice is sweet). It is taken from the 61st stanza of Canto XIV of Torquato Tasso´s Gerusalemme Liberata (Jerusalem Delivered), a Renaissance epic that inspired numerous musical compositions and works of art. Its inclusion here is a clear sign of the sitter´s education and her fondness for literature and music. [http://books0977.tumblr.com/post/172606339847/sof%C3%ADa-vela-y-querol-1850-federico-de-madrazo-y]