Inscribed in pen and brown ink Titian [lower left corner], black and white chalk on blue paper

230 x 168 mm. (9 x 6 5/8 in.)

At the time of the sale Christies compared the costume with that of Bordones Portrait of Paolo Visconti in Sintra in Portugal , G. Canova, Paris Bordone, Venice,1964, p.12, fig.77. The dress is also comparable to Portrait of a Lady attributed to the School of Veneto from the collection at Mount Stuart, Isle of Bute.1

Recently Professor Paul Joannides has commented that the drawing is probably from the studio of Titian. 2

A number of scholars have dated the drawing to circa 1550, both in terms of the technique and the costume.

1.P.Humfrey, T. Clifford, A.Weston-Lewis, M.Bury, The Age of Titian, Venetian Renaissance Art from Scottish Collections, exhibition catalogue, 5August-5 December 2004, National Galleries of Scotland, no.42.

2.Written communication 15 November 2013.