Attributed to Cornelis Pietersz. Bega

Sale, Utrecht, A.J. van Huffel, 5-7 June 1968, lot 1212, as Dutch Master circa 1680 (J. Adr. Backer?);
with Gebr. Douwes Fine Art, Amsterdam, 1969, as Cornelis Bega, acquired by Dr Anton C.R. Dreesmann (inventory no. B-19);
his sale, London, Christie's, 11 April 2002, lot 689

Notre Dame, Indiana, The Snite Museum of Art, Selections of XVII and XVIII Century Dutch Art from the Collection of Dr A.C.R. Dreesmann, 1982, no. 16 (as Cornelis Bega)

Paper somewhat discolored, except for narrow strip around all four edges, where drawing has been protected by mount. Narrow strip of brown paper around all four sides of verso. Some small spots. Chalk generally good and fresh. Sold in modern brown wood frame.
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Bega was one of several artists working in Haarlem at around the same time, whose rather similar figure drawings can be hard to separate; the others included Gerrit Berckheyde and Leendert van der Cooghen. The difficulty in making secure attributions to Bega is exacerbated by the fact that -- unlike Berckheyde's -- none of his known figure drawings can be directly connected with any painting.  All the same, as Peter Schatborn has observed, 'From the whole group of Haarlem artists Bega is the one who has gone the furthest in developing this characteristic manner into a firm style.'¹ The present drawing fits well enough with the agreed corpus of the artist's drawings, and there seems to be no reason to abandon the established attribution.    

1. P. Schatborn, Dutch Figure Drawings from the Seventeenth Century, exh. cat., Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, and Washington, National Gallery of Art, 1981-82, p. 105