Portret van een jonge vrouw

This engraving features a delicate study of a woman's face with her eyes cast downward in a contemplative expression. Below the head, a separate study shows her hands resting on a draped surface, displaying the artist's focus on anatomical precision and texture. The work utilizes fine, rhythmic hatching to create a soft, sculptural volume against the blank paper.

Hendrick Goltzius was a central figure in the Haarlem Mannerist circle and a primary artist for the court of Emperor Rudolf II in Prague, a hub for late Renaissance alchemy and occult philosophy. This study reflects the period's intense focus on 'physiognomia'—the belief that outward physical features revealed the inner temperament or soul.