Little is known of the artist Rochus van Veen. He was born ca. 1640 and worked in the small town of Beverwijk, where he also died in 1693. Van Veen mostly worked on paper, drawing small animals, birds, insects and plants with near-scientific accuracy. His work is represented in several important museum collections, such as the Graphische Sammlung in Frankfurt. The present work depicts a roach, or Rutilus Rutilus, a fresh water fish commonly found throughout Europe. Although our drawing has traditionally been attributed to Rochus van Veen, an attribution to the Master of the Arundel Sketchbook (active in the Southern Netherlands, 17th century) has also been suggested.