Picasso initially drew this bust-length figure with open, almond-shaped eyes. The long, diagonal strokes of black ink that cast shadows on the face were added later, possibly inspired by two defaced archaic, Iberian stone heads that Picasso acquired after they were stolen from the Musée du Louvre in 1907. The blackened gaze evokes both blindness and introspection. A close look at this drawing reveals traces of an earlier composition—in this case a standing female nude.