The composition of the present lot derives from two well known drawings by Dolci in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, and in Gijou, Spain, which all scholars agree to be youthful self-portraits by the artist. The Ashmolean drawing is inscribed in Latin across the pages of the book held by the young man with the following words: 'Cogita quot omine nuc sut in infernum qua minus tu Dininam Leserunt Maiestatem' (= 'Think how many men are now in hell although, less than you, they offended the Divine Majesty'). On the reverse is a long inscription attempting to explain the difference between the 'loss of God' and the 'loss of worldly things'.