A woman turns her head slightly to the left, her pale face emerging from a deep shadow that fills much of the background. Her gaze meets the viewer directly, with light catching on her forehead, nose, and softly parted lips, while her cheeks and chin are gently modeled in subtle tones. She wears a sheer, gold-trimmed veil that falls over her reddish-blonde curls and frames her face, its delicate fabric rendered with transparent, layered brushwork.

A large, ornate earring dangles from her left ear, catching a glint of light, and a string of gold beads rests on her chest, draped over a dark, heavy garment. The collar of her dress is high and intricately textured, painted with a creamy impasto that contrasts with the smooth, velvety darkness of her clothing. The background is an unbroken field of brown-black shadow, which sets off the illuminated face and veil, focusing attention on her expression and the play of light.

The brushwork varies from the soft blending in her face to the more textured, visible strokes in the veil and collar, adding richness and depth to the surface. No secondary figures or objects are visible in the composition, as the sitter is alone against a plain backdrop. The upper right and left corners are nearly engulfed in darkness, with only a faint transition to a slightly lighter brown near the sitter's head.

Light falls most strongly on the left side of the woman's face and upper chest, while her right shoulder and the lower part of her garment recede into shadow. The outer edge of her veil on the left is softly blurred, merging with the background, while the lower right corner of the painting is almost entirely black. Subtle golden and brown tones are visible in the sheer veil, which is painted with loose, linear brushstrokes that suggest its delicate folds and transparency. The work is described as a tronie, a genre focused on character studies rather than formal portraits.

It has belonged to the Widener Collection and the Charles Sedelmeyer collection before entering its current collection.