# Busts of a Man and a Woman in South-Eastern European Costumes

- By: Guercino (Cento, 1591–1666)
- Date: c. 1645 - c. 1655
- Medium: paper, chalk
- Classification: drawing
- Dimensions: height 300 mm x width 224 mm
- Credit line: Purchased with the support of the J.W. Edwin Vom Rath Fonds/Rijksmuseum Fonds
- Museum: [Rijksmuseum](https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/collection/object/RP-T-1955-155--9dcce7fb11829cac715af73b7aeb4d56)
- Rights: [Public Domain Mark](http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/)
- Picture: https://iiif.micr.io/CmIlS/full/!1920,1080/0/default.jpg
- Who can see it: Tweens profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

In this drawing Guercino may have focused on a subject that was particularly popular with Northern artists: the ill-matched love between an unattractive old man and a beautiful young woman. The delicate use of red chalk indicates that the artist considered the drawing as an independent work of art; perhaps it was intended for sale.