The head of a bearded man wearing a cap

Executed with great care and precision, this drawing can be dated to a relatively early stage in Guercino's career. Nicholas Turner has noted stylistic similarities with the head of Saint Joseph in The Holy Family with Saints John the Baptist and Anne (Windsor, Royal Collection, inv. 2754; illustrated in exhib. cat., Drawings by Guercino from British Collections, 1991, British Museum, London, no. 31). It suggests that the present drawing may also have been conceived as a design for a print, although it cannot be linked to any known etchings after Guercino's works.

We are grateful to Nicholas Turner for confirming the attribution to Guercino after examination of the original, and for his assistance in preparing this catalogue note.