The martyrdom of Saint Sebastian.

Drawing, brush and grey wash, heigthened with white, squaring grid in black chalk, 26,5 x 33,7 cm, laid paper, unsigned (traces of lead-white oxidation, sm. repaired tear at lower right, laid down on paper mount).

The positioning and S-curved dynamic composition of the central saint may refer to Guido Reni's treatment of the same subject, now in the Louvre (inv. 532). The classicising landscape and uses of grey wash point towards the hand of a French master working in the 2nd half of the 17th c. The squaring grid indicates that the drawing served as a modello for transfer to a larger format.