Head of an old woman

Bosch's Head of an Old Woman (c. 1500) is a character study of female aging rendered with the unsparing observation that characterized his approach to human types at the extremes of social and physical condition. Old women in Bosch's iconographic vocabulary often carried connotations of witchcraft, vanity, or wisdom, and the specific rendering of aged female physiognomy — the lined face, the sagging flesh, the watchful eyes — belonged to a tradition of moral characterization through physical appearance. The work's quality of concentrated attention to the individual face suggests an interest in specific human presence that transcends mere moral typology.

The precise rendering of the aged face with its wrinkles and sagging flesh demonstrates Bosch's ability as a naturalistic observer, contrasting with the fantastic imagery for which he is better known.