Portrait of a Young Woman

The painting shows a young woman in a three-quarter profile, turned slightly toward the viewer with a gentle, composed expression against a dark background. Light from the left models her pale skin and the folds of a white drapery over her shoulders, with a small pearl earring catching the light. The composition centers the face and upper torso in a tightly controlled, intimate portrait style, using a restrained color palette and smooth, careful brushwork characteristic of Vermeer.