Attributed to Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn

Samuel de Festetits (with inscription in brown ink, verso: Samuel de Festitits/A^o 1851);
J.C. von Klinkosch,
his sale, Vienna, Wawra, 15 April 1889, lot 729;
Stephan von Kuffner, Vienna;
British Rail Pension Fund;
sale, London, Sotheby's, 8 July 1998, lot 105

C. Hofstede de Groot, Die Handzeichnungen Rembrandts, Haarlem 1906, p. 130, under cat. no. 560, p. 166 under cat. 729;
Oesterreichische Kusttopographie 11, p. 225, fig. 244;
O. Benesch, Rembrandt, Werk und Forschung, Vienna 1935, p. 22;
idem, The Drawings of Rembrandt, 6 vols., London 1954, vol. II, cat. no. 290, fig. 318 (revised edition, London 1973, vol. II, cat. no. 290, fig. 348) (always as Rembrandt)

Sold in modern frame. A slight diagonal crease across the lower right corner, and some other very slight creases in the upper right. There is a diagonal fault in the paper at the upper left corner. Some very tiny, pale foxing, but barely visible. The sheet is overall in very good condition.
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.

This drawing can be associated with a group of similar studies by Rembrandt depicting sleeping women, many of which appear to show his wife Saskia.  These date from the period between their marriage in 1634 and her death in 1642, and on this basis as well as on other stylistic criteria Benesch accepted this study sheet as an autograph work by Rembrandt, dating from around 1635.  Benesch (op. cit. 1954) noted that there are copies of the upper figure in the Louvre, and in the Besançon Museum.¹ 

The attribution of this drawing to Rembrandt is not accepted by the majority of the current leading scholars, but no alternative attribution has been proposed, and the overall quality and specific characteristics of the drawing suggest that the attribution to Rembrandt himself should not necessarily be unequivocally dismissed .

1.  See Hofstede de Groot, op. cit., cat. nos. 729 and 560