Frau mit zwei Kindern nach links 

This sketch, "Woman with Two Children, Facing Left," was created by Baccio Bandinelli, the Florentine Renaissance artist, sometime before 1560. It’s an image made with pen and ink, probably as preparation for a larger work. It's interesting to consider this sketch in the context of Florentine artistic traditions. The city was, after all, the birthplace of the Renaissance, and Bandinelli himself came from a family of artists. But Florence was also a highly structured society with strict rules about gender roles. Women were expected to be wives and mothers, and this is reflected in the imagery of the time. Bandinelli often presented his subjects in the prevalent aesthetic of the day. He seems to be playing to the conservative values of the city's elite by portraying women in their traditionally prescribed role. To fully understand this sketch, we need to look at the social history of Florence, the role of women in society, and the artistic conventions of the Renaissance.