Heroine from the Old Testament

We sense that the woman's careful toilette is a prelude. She may be Judith preparing to seduce and kill Holofernes, commander of the enemy's forces. She may be Esther, who saved the Jewish people by braving death to win over king Ahasuerus of Persia. More troublingly, she may be Bathsheba, summoned before the lustful king David who will force her into adultery. The artist reveals nothing, leaving us to imagine the subject. Characteristically, Rembrandt has chosen not to depict action, but rather its anticipation, showing the subject lost in thought as she contemplates the future. Frame: ripple-moulded veneer over wooden sub-structure, partly gilded. Netherlands or Flanders, 17th century