The attribution of this small sketch to Velázquez is supported by the most recent critiques. It is based on the extraordinary pictorial quality of the study and the capacity for essential synthesis, which reveal the master's hand. The work, done perhaps in a single session, is typical of the way in which Velázquez labored, capable of bringing pieces to realization with just a few strokes of lineament and expression. The artist's attention is concentrated on the face and the definition of other particulars becomes less evident as one passes to the hair and the barely-outlined neck.