Initially trained in France, Simon Vouet spent much of his time in Italy and became the director of the Accademia di San Luca in Rome. This drawing, showing a young woman deep in thought as well as a secondary study of the head and torso of another woman, reveals Vouet’s mastery of the human figure and his careful study of drapery. The artist learned these Italianate principles of design in Rome, and upon his return to France he passed them on to the next generation of artists, including Charles Le Brun, who would later found the Académie Française in Paris. Although this drawing appears to be a preparatory study, no corresponding final work has been identified.