French follower of Caravaggio (Simon Vouet?)

Collection of the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, The Benjamin J. Tillar Memorial Trust

Laid down on what appears to be an 18th-century album page. Large stain, top right, and other smaller stains (mostly brown). Lower left corner missing, and various other small losses at edges. Various creases and abrasions.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Broadly and vigorously executed with charcoal heightened with white chalk, this handsome drawing, a life-size study after a model, surely served as a cartoon, though no related painting has been yet identified.  It must represent a blind man wearing a laurel wreath, possibly a depiction of a personage from the Antique world such as Homer.  

Thanks, surely, to the broad handling of the chalk, the drawing bears an old attribution to Annibale Carraci written in pen, lower left, but several aspects of the image are actually highly reminiscent of painted works by Simon Vouet dating from the late 1620s, when the painter was back in Paris after his long sojourn in Italy (1613-1627).  No cartoons by the artist are, however, known, and Vouet's drawings on a smaller scale appear quite different, so comparisons can only reasonably be made with the artist's paintings -- in any case a perfectly logical approach, as cartoons are unavoidably more likely to reflect an artist's style as a painter than as a draftsman.  The rendering of the mouth and nose are indeed highly reminiscent of Vouet’s painted heads, as is the subtle use of light which modulates the physiognomy of the face.  

If, as seems perfectly possible, this striking cartoon head is in fact by Vouet, it extends our understanding of his draughtsmanship; the charcoal is used with great vigor, especially in the well understood definition of the hair, and the laurel wreath is also described in a broad but highly effective manner.