Casa Gennari (according to a note in Rudolf's handwriting on the old mount); C.R. Rudolf, his sale, Sotheby's, 19th May 1977, lot 101; Private collection, Channel Islands
Nicholas Turner has suggested that this drawing dates from the 1630s and was drawn on Guercino’s return from Rome to Cento, near Bologna, following the death of his patron, Pope Gregory XV. Its vivid description of movement, and the characteristic swirling pen work in the depiction of the drapery are typical of his lively drawing style and Bolognese naturalism. This owed much to the influence of the Carracci, a generation earlier.