Attributed to Hendrick Terbrugghen Deventer 1588 - 1629 Utrecht

John Postle Heseltine (L.1508)

This study of a woman's head corresponds with that of the central figure in Terbrugghen's painting Scene of Mercenary Love, dated by Benedict Nicolson circa 1625-8 (see B. Nicolson, Hendrick Terbrugghen, London 1958, cat.no. A.64, illustrated pl. 88). Until now, no clear picture has emerged of Terbrugghen's drawing style, although a few sheets have been associated with his name; see, for example the two, in Hamburg and formerly in Berlin, published by Judson in 1956 (J.R. Judson, 'Terbrugghen as a Draughtsman,' The Burlington Magazine, XCVIII, November 1956, p. 411, figs. 22, 24). The spontaneous nature of the present drawing, and the slightly more natural attitude of the sitter's face, suggest that it is less likely this is a mere copy after the figure in the painting, than that it is the original life study by Terbrugghen, on which the painted figure was based.