Lorenzo de'Ferrari's association with the Jesuits of Genoa lasted over twenty years. In 1725 he was commissioned to paint a work celebrating The Beatification of Stanislas Kostka and Aloysius Gonzaga for the church of the Gesù. Between 1734-44 he produced two major altarpieces The Virgin and Child with Saints Stanislas Kostka and Saint Francis Borgia and The Death of Saint John Francis Regis with the Virgin, Saint Francis Xavier and Saint Aloysius Gonzaga for Sant'Ignazio.
Various drawings are known for the latter commission, such as a drawing of The Death of Saint Francis Xavier, M. Newcome, Addenda to Lorenzo de'Ferrari's late Draughtsmanship, Master Drawings, 1987, 2, pp. 156-8, pl. 10; and The Virgin and Saint Stanislas Kostka, sold at Christie's, Rome, 15 May 1986, lot 549, illustrated. The present drawing is particularly close in style to the first drawing, and bears a similar signature 'Af. Lzo D. Ferrari'. It may also, therefore, be connected with Lorenzo's work for Sant'Ignazio and dated to the same period.
Mary Newcome Schleier has, on the basis of a photograph, kindly confirmed the attribution