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Jan de Bray

A Portrait of a Woman

1650
Black and red chalk on ivory laid paper
16.4 × 12.8 cm (6.5 × 5 in)

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In the collection of Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago · as of July 2026

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FROM THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO’S CATALOG

Jan de Bray used finely pointed red and black chalk in alternation to describe the facial features of middle-aged residents of the city of Haarlem. He also captured the distinctive features of their clothing, such as buttons, pleats, seams, and the stiffly pressed lace of their elaborate collars.

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