In the context of this artwork, explore the Subject of the Painting.
The portrait depicts a young woman as a bride. It was commissioned by a man named Giacomo, whose name is inscribed on the back of the painting. The unknown woman in the painting is called Laura because of the laurel branches depicted in the background of the portrait.
The Kunsthistorisches Museum identifies the subject as Laura di Noves., the wife of Count Hugues de Sade. She is thought to be the subject of Petrarch's Laura poems, although this is unproven. However, since Laura is a very common name, the identity of the painting has not been verified as fact.  
Alternatively, the figure might show a courtesan— certainly many of the paintings in the Venetian tradition the Laura inspired were of figures to be read as courtesans, often posing as a mythological figure or the personification of an abstract quality.It is also assumed that the model of this portrait was also a model for Giorgione's The Tempest.
Count Hugues de Sade The Tempest Laura di Noves Kunsthistorisches Museum laurel Giorgione courtesan