Two Female Heads

first half 17th century

Two Female Heads, first half 17th century. Abraham Bloemaert (Dutch, 1564–1651). Red chalk heightened with white chalk; framing lines in brown ink; sheet: 7.8 x 12.2 cm (3 1/16 x 4 13/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Anne Elizabeth Wilson Memorial Fund 1994.15 The power and sensitivity of this small drawing depicting two views of the same female head far exceeds the sheet’s modest size. These female heads drawn from two angles may have been studies for an instruction book for artists published by Bloemaert in the 1600s.