Study of Head and Shoulders of Woman with Headdress

Art Historical Context

This delicate pen-and-ink drawing by Belgian artist Félicien Rops captures a close-up study of a woman’s head and shoulders, adorned with an elaborate headdress. Measuring just 2¾ by 2¼ inches, the work exemplifies the intimate scale often favored for preparatory sketches. Rendered in fluid lines on paper, the piece highlights Rops’s economical use of ink to suggest form, texture, and expression with remarkable economy. As a study rather than a finished composition, the drawing offers insight into the artist’s working process. The focus on a female figure with distinctive headwear reflects broader 19th-century interest in costume and character studies, allowing viewers to appreciate how such small works served as building blocks for larger projects. Now part of the Metropolitan Museum’s Department of Drawings and Prints, this work entered the collection in 1979 as a gift from Mr. and Mrs. Albert Broccoli. Its presence in the museum underscores the value of preserving even the most modest sketches, which reveal the creative spark behind an artist’s more public output.

About the Artist

Félicien Rops · 1833–1898

Félicien Rops, born Félicien Victor Joseph Rops on July 7, 1833, in Namur, Belgium, to a prosperous textile manufacturing family, displayed prodigious artistic talent from youth. The only child of Nicholas Rops and Sophie Maubile, he received private tutoring until age ten, followed by education at a Jesuit school in Namur (1843–1848), the Athénée Royal de Namur, and the Academy of Fine Arts there...