The composition probably derives from a painting by Annibale Carracci commissioned in 1595 by a member of the Sampieri family of Bologna. The attribution to Badalocchio was proposed by Brugnoli and is accepted by Van Tuyll van Serooskerken, who suggests a date of c. 1607. Several other versions are known, though their attribution remains problematic; a comparable composition is also known in a number of versions, of which one is in the National Gallery, London.
