Head of a young woman, bowed and turned aside
Tonal head study on a woven ground, gaze lowered
A tonal study of a young woman's head, inclined downward and turned to one side, the hair drawn smoothly back from the brow into a low knot. The face is broadly modelled in soft passages of light and shadow on a coarse woven (linen) ground, now much rubbed and stained. Only the head and a faint suggestion of neck and shoulder are carried through.
On this page
Downturned female head
The head tilts forward and to one side, the eyes cast down. The hair is parted and swept back over the ears into a low coil, and the rounded features wear a calm, meditative expression.
Soft modelling of the face
The forms are built up in gradual passages of light and shade rather than by outline, the cheek and jaw emerging from a darker ground. The study explores how a face turns in gentle relief under diffused light.