Young Woman in Profile c. 1613

Peter Paul Rubens made this drawing of a young woman in profile, using black and red chalk, likely in the early 17th century. Rubens, a leading figure of the Flemish Baroque, lived in a society deeply shaped by aristocratic patronage, religious conflict, and burgeoning mercantile power. This study offers a tender glimpse into the artist’s process. The delicacy with which he renders the woman’s features, her gaze cast slightly upward, invites contemplation on the role of women in art and society. While the sitter's identity remains unknown, we can imagine her place in the social hierarchy of the time. Was she of noble birth or perhaps a member of Rubens’s own household? Drawings like these, produced in the Baroque era, often served as preparatory sketches for larger paintings, yet they possess an intimacy all their own. Consider the emotional impact of a work that captures a fleeting moment of beauty, a study that transcends its function to offer us a connection to a woman across centuries.