The original, on canvas, 76 x 63.5 cm, was acquired by the Louvre in 1964. It is one of a series of the Four Seasons, commissioned by the Emperor Maximillian II as a gift for the Elector of Saxony. It was removed from the Saxon royal collections no doubt in the 19th century (see A. Brejon de Lavergée and D. Thiebaut, Catalogue Sommaire .... du Louvre, II, Italie, Espagne etc., 1981, p. 145). The present lot omits the border of flowers which according to Lavergée and Thiebaut was probably added in the 17th century

See illustration