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In Charlotte van Pallandt's studio on Gooweg in Noordwijk, there was still a life-size figure study for 'Woman' years after its completion. It seems to be an exact copy. There are studio photos from 1972 showing the sculptor busy modelling, while she is observed from a workbench in a corner of the studio by this female figure with severed legs.

At the time Van Pallandt lived in Amsterdam during the winter and for three summers, from 1950 to 1953, she worked in Noordwijk on the sculpture of the standing nude. She patiently devoted herself to the subtle contrast between the smooth skin of the woman's body and the rough rendering of drapery, raised hair, the cloth in the right hand and the hardstone pedestal with which the figure is fused. Both body lines and accessories are soft and graceful. The female curves are reflected in the folds of the textile. The elegant pose is reinforced by the left leg being placed slightly backwards.

For Van Pallandt the modern French classicist sculptors Aristide Maillol (1861-1944) and Charles Malfray (1887-1940) served as important role models. In the 1930s, they experienced the heyday of Dutch sculpture. When thirty years later the figurative tradition collapsed, she was still assured of monumental commissions with Mari Andriessen, Piet Esser and Pieter D'Hont, including the famous Wilhelmina statue of which she made several versions in the period 1966-1968. A striking feature is the closed form that characterises not only this monument but also her other sculptures.