The present drawing is dated to 1660-5 by Marcel Röthlisberger, although some elements of the composition and the motif of the figure and cattle are found in works of the 1630s and 1640s. It is comparable to studies in the Ecole des Beaux-Arts and in the Louvre in Paris, Röthlisberger, op. cit., nos. 181 verso and 493. Röthlisberger comments that 'the open setting has here an increased grandeur' and argues for a later dating: 'An advanced date is also indicated by the handling, marked by a nervous and forceful pen stroke and an ample use of chalk. The same handling may be seen in other works of the early sixties. What is exceptional in this sheet is the freedom of its setting.' A smaller and modified copy of this drawing is at Besançon (no. D.1325).