Head of a friar wearing a cowl, seen in three-quarter profile

This powerful portrait is an early copy of a drawing by Fra Bartolommeo of almost the same size, and executed in the same technique, that was once in the Thomas Lawrence collection and has recently appeared on the art market (Baroni, op. cit., no. 29, ill.). The existence of this early copy and its own prestigious provenance attest to the importance and significance of Fra Bartolommeo’s masterful portrait. Because of its quality the present sheet was long believed to be an autograph work by the artist. The sitter was, at some point, identified with Fra Bartolommeo himself and the drawing described as a self-portrait. Although the author of this drawing remains unidentified, the sheet conveys the refinement and the intensity of Fra Bartolommeo’s own work.