The present composition derives from a mirror-image engraving by Jacques Callot dated 1617, of which only five examples exist. Callot made the engraving whilst working in Florence for the Medici family. This engraving can be seen for example in Gallerie Bassenge in Berlin in 2013. Stylistic comparison to a work from this collection monogrammed 'IVS' allows the present piece to be attributed to Jacob van Swanenburgh, who travelled to Italy in 1591 and lived between Venice and Naples for 20 years following his training under his father. The reference to Callot's engraving, the facture of the canvas and its priming allow us to date the work relatively securely to between 1617 and 1620, the time during which Swanenburg left Italy to return to Leiden.(Prof. Riccardo Latuada, Rome, 2016 on website Lempertz). The painting is auctioned by Lempertz in Cologne on May 21, 2016 lot 1248.

A partly similar Etching from Jaques Callot can be seen in the National Gallery of Art in Washington (1949.5.433)