This drawing was made by Bloemaert as the initial design for a print in the series of ‘Slothful villagers’ (fig. 1; see Roethlisberger, op. cit., I, no. 302, II, fig. 439; and Bolten, op. cit., I, p. 249, under no. 722, II, fig. 722a), of which the definitive composition, engraved by his son Cornelis, shows the sleeping sportsman with his legs outstretched and with his catch in the foreground, while both dogs appear behind him. None of the final models for the series seem to have survived, but there is a black chalk study for one of the other prints (Bolten, op. cit., I, p. 249, under no. 719, II, fig. 719b). The style of the designs can be dated around 1625-1630.
Fig. 1. Cornelis Bloemaert, after Abraham Bloemaert, A resting sportsman resting under a tree with two dogs. Engraving. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, inv. RP-P-BI-1391.