Portrait of a Man in a cartouche, with a female figure at left; verso: design for an ornamental frame

Watermark: grapes (partial).
This free and energetic study for a male portrait surrounded by an elaborate frame with figures was long attributed to Jacques Callot based on a general similarity with his printed portrait of Cosimo II de'Medici and the related studies. While it is not the work of Callot, and was rejected by Daniel Ternois, it is likely a preparatory study for a portrait print by another French artist of the seventeenth century.
The portrait is bisected by a vertical line in black chalk, a device used for drawing the ornamental surround. If the sheet is turned 90 degrees counterclockwise, the beginnings of another design, with a large shell in red chalk with a vertical line, overlay the principal black chalk drawing. This design may be part of the same campaign as the red chalk sketches for a decorative frame on the verso.