Although Degas did not develop in detail the facial features on the model in this study, a comparison of the figure's long, wavy hair and pubescent physique with the subjects in other Academy drawings makes it clear that this youth is the same model who, staff in hand, takes the role of St. John the Baptist in the studies sold as lots 69b and 70b of the Fourth Atelier Degas Sale. The latter also contains a drawing on the verso (designated lot 70a) in which the same model poses as an angel holding a trumpet. These figures are related to a watercolor Saint-Jean Baptiste et l'ange (Lemoisne, vol. II, no. 20) and a standing figure of St. John the Baptist clad in an animal skin (Lemoisne, vol. II, no. 21).