The three dominant Flemish masters of the Baroque were Peter Paul Rubens, Anthony van Dyck and Jacob Jordaens. By the age of 14, Jordaens was studying with Rubens' master, Adam van Noort (whose daughter he would eventually marry).  Jordaens shared a commission with Rubens for an altarpiece for the Augustinian church in Antwerp (completed in 1628).  He worked on the decorations for the Triumphal Entry of the Cardinal Infante into Antwerp in 1635. In 1636 he executed paintings after Rubens' designs for the Torre de la Parada, the King of Spain's hunting lodge, and in 1639-40 for the Queen's House, Greenwich (a series of decorative panels, sold in 1649 and now lost).

Following the deaths of Rubens and Van Dyck in 1640 and 1641, respectively, Jordaens remained the undisputed leader of the Flemish school of painting, specialising in portraits and figure subjects, including tapestry designs, and maintaining a busy studio practice. He died in Antwerp on October 18, 1678.

Our exceptionally well-preserved sheet was once part of the reknowned collection of Richard Cosway. Cosway was a Royal Academician, a miniaturist and a highly sought-after artist in his own right. As a favorite of the English King, he had access to, and amassed one of the finest collections of drawings and engravings in 18th-century England.  His estate, sold in 1822, was particularly rich in drawings by Rubens, Van Dyck and Jordaens. Our drawing has been in a private collection in Paris since 1950. It is new to the marketplace.