A sleeping woman, half-length, an infant leaning on her shoulder

As Nicholas Turner has noted, 'Sequeira is, without question, the most accomplished figurative draughtsman in the history of Portuguese art' (N. Turner, European Master Drawings in Portuguese Collections, Lisbon, 2000, under no. 119). His accomplishments are not simply of technique but also of variety of style, by turns taking inspiration from Cades, Turner, Füssli, Gandolfi, Gérard, or in the case of the present drawing Bison and Guercino. He was in Italy from 1788-1795, returning to Lisbon to try to make his way as a painter. From 1823 until 1826 he was in Paris before returning to Rome, where are stayed until his death. It is to this last period that the present drawing can be dated.
A drawing very similar to the present example, and indeed formerly attributed to Bison, was sold at Christie's, Paris, 22 March 2007, lot 262.