Puvis did not use pastels very often. He seems to have used this technique in the 1880s. In 1887, he exhibited ten pastels with Durand-Ruel and eight in 1888 at the Société des pastellistes. Stylistically, the drawing belongs to the 1880s (cf. Puvis de Chavannes, exhibition catalogue, Paris-Ottawa. 1976-1977, pp. 204-208, nos. 185 and 189).
We would like to thank Mr Bertrand Puvis de Chavannes for confirming the authenticity of this drawing.