The attribution has been confirmed by Francesca Baldassari

The subject is taken from Canto XVIII of Torquato Tasso's Gerusalemme Liberata. Rinaldo finds himself in a forest glade, at whose edge is a myrtle tree. There he hears the sounds of a heavenly choir accompanied by lute and viol. The trees then split apart and scantily-clad nymphs issue forth. Finally, a vision of Armida emerges from the myrtle, at which point Rinaldo draws his sword to destroy the tree and with it the enchantment. The imaginary Armida embraces the trunk and begs him to kill her first, but he remains steadfast, and the vision vanishes. Although the subject is not a common one, it is interesting to note that Tasso explicity compares the nymphs to sylvan goddesses in paintings