Despite a previous attribution to J.H. Tischbein (whether Johann Heinrich the elder, 1722-1789, the 'Kasseler Tischbein', Johann Heinrich the younger, 1742-1809, or Johann Heinrich Wilhelm, 1751-1829, the 'Goethe Tischbein', after the famous portrait of Goethe in the Campagna), this pastel seems to be the work of Johann Friedrich August Tischbein, the 'Leipziger Tischbein', usually known by the single Christian name Friedrich. A version in oils, 36 x 28in., signed 'Friederich Tischbein', was with the Kunsthaus Malmedé, Cologne, in 1934 (illustrated in an advertisement in Pantheon, XIV, 8 August 1934) Friedrich Tischbein also seems to have been the member of the family who most frequently used pastel.