Naisen profiili 1872 - 1874

Helene Schjerfbeck sketched "Naisen profiili" in pencil. The subject's headscarf and coiffure immediately bring to mind classical antiquity. The headscarf, here fashioned with an almost casual elegance, echoes the draped fabrics often seen in Roman portraiture, suggesting both modesty and status. Consider the reappearance of this motif throughout history, from the veiled figures of Renaissance paintings to contemporary fashion. In ancient Greece, the headscarf indicated a woman's marital status and social standing; a visual language that has traversed centuries, shifting in meaning yet retaining its potent symbolic weight. The profile view itself—a common pose in ancient coins and busts—distances the subject, inviting contemplation on the ideals of beauty and virtue. We see the echoes of ancient Greece, Rome, and the Renaissance, revealing how symbols persist, evolve, and are perpetually reborn.