Watermark: none.
Probably a portrait of the writer Jacques Cazotte (1719-1792).
The drawing is in its original carved gilt frame surmounted by a pair of quills and bound by laurel leaves, alluding to the sitter's profession.
Signed at upper right in graphite, "Perronneau"; inscribed on the reverse, "Juillet 1756, par Perroneau".
Bardac, Sigismond, 1856-1919, former owner.
Stern, Jacques, former owner.
Denison, Cara D. French Drawings, 1550-1825. New York : Pierpont Morgan Library, 1984, no. 57.
Ryskamp, Charles, ed. Twenty-First Report to the Fellows of the Pierpont Morgan Library, 1984-1986. New York : Pierpont Morgan Library, 1989, p. 368.
Denison, Cara D., with Stephanie Wiles and Ruth S. Kraemer. Fantasy and Reality : Drawings from the Sunny Crawford von Bülow Collection. New York : Pierpont Morgan Library, 1995, no. 9, repr. in color.