The composition of the present drawing is close to that of the altarpiece formerly in the oratory of Saint John the Baptist in Pontelongo, near Padova, S. Mason Rinaldi, Palma il Giovane, Milan, 1984, no. 217, fig. 38. The picture was commissioned in 1580 for the small church of Pontelongo after the bishop of Padua, Federico Cornelio, paid a visit on the 12 June. Saint Nicholas and the Madonna and Child are very similar in both works, though there are numerous differences between the picture and the drawing, such as the shape of the composition and the standing saint on the left of the Madonna, who is Saint John the Baptist in the picture.
The presence in the drawing of Saint George indicates that the work could not have been executed for the oratory of Saint John the Baptist, but probably for an earlier commission, that of a processional banner. The present drawing must be a modello to be presented to the patrons and used to execute the banner.
According to Ridolfi, Palma was already in 1580 in Pontelongo painting frescoes in the church of San Giacomo dall'Orio. He must have received the commission to paint the Saint John the Baptist altarpiece and re-used one of his previous designs.