This fresh and spontaneous drawing was the fruit of a new style of draftsmanship Romney adopted after returning from two years in Italy (1773–75). In Rome, he would have been introduced to Fuseli (who lived there 1770–78) and the radical style he and his circle were developing.
This sketch’s rapidly applied ink and wash, characterized by long, fluid strokes of the brush, functioned as a rehearsal for the actual physical marks Romney would employ in his paintings. Figure of a Woman was probably a study for Elizabeth Warren as Hebe (1776), the artist’s first major portrait after returning from Italy.