Attributed to Cornelis Pietersz. Bega

Window mounted. Repaired vertical cut, upper centre (hardly visible from front). Paper surface somewhat dirty, but chalk very good good and fresh. Sold in a modern black wood frame.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

A drawing showing exactly the same figure, from a fractionally different viewpoint, was sold in the 1960s as by Cornelis Bega (fig. 1).¹ The two drawings must have been made by two different artists, working alongside each other in the same studio, at precisely the same time.  The survival of such pairs of drawings, clearly made at the same time from the same posed model, is rare, at least amongst 17th century Dutch drawings.  One or two examples are known from the Rembrandt studio, and many others have survived from the 18th and early 19th century, when numerous semi-amateur life-drawing societies sprang up throughout Holland, but this may be the only known case of such a survival from the close-knit artistic community of Haarlem.

Of the two drawings, the present work looks more like the work of Bega, although his drawings can be extremely difficult to separate from those of some of his Haarlem contemporaries, notably Gerrit and Job Berckheyde, and Leendert van der Cooghen.  In all these artists' works, figures in this type of military uniform are rather rare, appearing more frequently in the compositions of Italianate artists such as Jan Both and Karel Dujardin, but in terms of handling, it is hard to see this drawing as anything other than a work of the Haarlem school.

1.  London, Sotheby's, 10 December 1968, lot 155, from the collection of Dr. N. Meyer (L.1812)