As pointed out by H.W. Janson in his article The Putto with the Death's Head (Art Bulletin, III, Sept. 1937, pp. 423-39), the theme of a dying putto resting on a skull became popular during the 16th Century in Northern Europe. Early examples are found in German prints, such as that by Barthel Beham dated 1525 (Bartsch 31). The image was based on late 15th Century Italian variants of the so-called L'Hora Passa woodcut (Janson, op. cit., fig. 10).

A similar work was sold at Christie's Amsterdam, 8 May 1995, lot 7.