Incontestably Bologna’s dominant artist following the death of Ludovico Carracci in 1619, Guido Reni exercised enormous impact throughout Italy in the 17th century. Several decades following Reni’s death, the French theoretician Roger de Piles aptly characterized his manner as simultaneously “monumental, easy and graceful”, thus accounting for his enduring influence on European painters well into the 19th century.

An astute businessman, Reni reportedly began sketching immediately upon receiving a commission so that if he died suddenly, the down payment would not have to be returned; thus, according to one contemporary, “infinite were the works found sketched out and incomplete” in his studio. This vigorous drawing, unfortunately badly rubbed, is likely an early work.