This and the drawing D1806, Warrior with a shield, are companions and have remained together from at least as long ago as the late eighteenth century, when they were kept together in the same collection, and were each laid down onto the standard mount of this collector, who however remains unknown. The second drawing carries the date April 1531, which indeed fits precisely with the style of Giulio Romano´s early Mantuan period. A study of Two Roman Soldiers Fighting with Swords and Shields in the Fine Arts Museum, Budapest, drawn in the early 1530s for one of the stucco reliefs decorating the ceiling of the Sala degli Stucchi in the Palazzo Te in Mantua, is identical in style to the two Prado drawings (inv. no. 2124; Budapest, 1998, no. 26). The purpose of the two Prado drawings remains unknown, but they were evidently intended as designs for painted trompe l´oeil figures occupying shallow niches either in a fresco or in some temporary structure with painted decorations. The Gonzaga were Giulio´s patrons at this time, and it seems likely that the two drawings were made for a family commission. Both drawings are squared for transfer (Text drawn from Turner, N.: From Michelangelo to Annibale Carracci. A century of Italian drawings from the Prado, Art Services International-Museo Nacional del Prado, 2008, p. 68).