The first description of the subject of this drawing was “a lying woman” (Degani, inv. C19, 1966). Later N. Turner argued that the subject of the drawing was Saint Stephen Martyr (DiSegno Antico, Bologna 2000) . After some comparisons with other drawings, such as "Studio per due figure" (Study of two figures) at Uffizi Gallery (6789S) and especially with "Gruppo di santi e angeli" (Groups of saints and angels) at the Metropolitan Museum, New York (inv. 1970.113.6), Massimo Pulini has orally affirmed that Mattia Preti is the author of the drawing .