Portrait of a woman as Venus with Paris' apple

Bartholomeus van der Helst presents a woman styled as Venus, standing against a shadowy garden background. She is nude from the waist up, with a white cloth at her hips and a blue drapery over one shoulder, holding a golden apple in her raised right hand; a floral headpiece and pearl necklace ornament her head. The palette centers on warm, soft flesh tones contrasted with the cool blue fabric and a dark, muted backdrop, and the brushing creates naturalistic light and volume in a Baroque Dutch portrait style.