Rombout Verhulst completed the marble tomb for Baron van Liere and his widow, Maria van Reygersbergh, in 1663. In preparation for it, he made these portrait studies. Willem van Liere was modelled post-mortem (after his death) in a stiff pose, probably derived from a painted portrait. The bust of Maria van Reygersbergh, in contrast, has all of the sensitivity and vitality of a portrait made ‘from life’.