The Fresco-paintings of the Banqueting hall of the Prussian Consul General in Rome, Jakob Salomon Bartholdy, by Overbeck and other Nazarene artists from 1816 onwards were a sensation. The drawing corresponds exactly, but mirror-inverted, to the head of Joseph from Overbeck's fresco Joseph being sold by his brothers. The question of who made the drawing and when it was done, has been the subject of lively scholarly debate and remains unresolved. It is a curious coincidence that Felix Mendelssohn saw and described the difficult-to-access frescoes in his deceased uncle's flat on the exact day corresponding to the date noted on the drawing.