Bovenlichaam van een vrouw en buste van een vrouw c. 1663 - 1666

This is Giuseppe Maria Mitelli’s drawing, "Bovenlichaam van een vrouw en buste van een vrouw", made sometime between 1634 and 1718. The composition is divided into two distinct studies on a single sheet, each employing a different approach to form and representation. On the right, we see a detailed bust of a woman, her head wrapped in cloth, rendered with delicate lines that capture the texture and light. The artist uses hatching and cross-hatching to model the face and fabric, creating a sense of volume. In contrast, the other study presents the upper body of a woman with fabric draped over her. Mitelli seems less concerned with precise anatomical detail and more interested in the interplay of light and shadow across the draped form. Here, the lines are broader and more suggestive, prioritizing the overall shape and the way the fabric envelops the figure. Mitelli's work invites us to consider how a subject can be represented in multiple ways, each emphasizing different aspects of form and perception.