Like many of the tronies executed by Rembrandt and Lievens, this aged woman holds a book symbolizing her piety. The extremely low viewpoint monumentalizes her, and the unmoderated illumination calls attention to the folds and wrinkles that individualize her face. This figure appears in other paintings by Haarlem artists, which suggests that she was a favourite model. The shaded eyes, indicative of her spiritual vision, is a pictorial device not apparent in the other paintings.