Portrait of Madame Jules Ricard, née Augustine Bulteau

Although Fernand Khnopff was best known for depicting femmes fatales—threatening or dangerous women—this drawing offers a personalized and intimate depiction of its sitter, Augustine Bulteau. A prolific novelist and writer, Bulteau hosted a regular salon for artists such as Manet and Toulouse-Lautrec. She appears dressed conservatively but fashionably, holding her place in a book as if interrupted while reading.