Formerly attributed to the Spanish artist Luis de Vargas (1502-1568), the drawing is more likely to be by a Flemish artist who may have worked in Italy. The high degree of finish and the sitter’s direct gaze would indicate that this may be a preparatory drawing for a painted portrait. An old inscription on the verso of the drawing (hidden under a thick backing sheet) seems to indicate the date 1607, while a more recent one (possibly 20th century) mentions that the portrait could be of or by Joos van Cleve (1485-1541). Although this is almost certainly not the case, this supports the conjecture that the artist was Flemish.