JACOB JORDAENS (Antwerp 1593-1678)

Jordaens made this sketch in the trois crayons technique typical for him in preparation for a painting from the 1640s showing the child, three men (including one with his own features), accompanied by an old procuress and a greyhound, serenading a young woman. Although the original is no longer known, the composition is recorded in several period copies, including one at the sale Christie’s, London, 25 April 2001, lot 49 (see D’Hulst, op. cit., p. 366, fig. 6; and Marc Vandenven in Jacob Jordaens (1593-1678), I, Schilderijen en wandtapijten, exhib cat., Antwerp, Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, 1993, p. 202, under no. A63, ill.).