Six Studies of an Old Woman's Head

Although De Gheyn III’s manner of draftsmanship was undoubtedly related to the graphic technique of his father and teacher Jacques de Gheyn II, the flawless xecution and the highly linear, almost abstract quality f this sheet epitomize his own unique drawing style. Working with a heavily charged pen on coarse tan paper, the artist depicted the same woman’s head in six different positions. Her deep, expressive wrinkles were rendered using short, stipple-like strokes, while the headscarf was executed mostly through the combination of regular parallel hatches and subtle white highlights. The long-standing appreciation for the younger artist’s penmanship is confirmed by the fact that this drawing was previously owned by British painter Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723–1792), a highly discerning art collector and the first president of the Royal Academy of Arts.