The original, on canvas, 118 x 279 cm, executed in 1514, is in the Galleria Borghese, Rome. The painting was commissioned by the Venetian merchant Niccolo Aurelio on the occasion of his marriage to Laura Bagarotto of Padua in 1514. It was acquired by Cardinal Scipione Borghese in 1608 from the estate of the Milanese Cardinal Sfondrato (see H.E. Wethey, The Paintings of Titian, 1975, III, pp. 175/79, no. 33). Throughout the centuries scholars have tried to identify the exact meaning of the subject. In his description of the painting, the author gives a chronological survey of the various interpretations and concludes that still no satisfying solution has been found (see Wethey, op.cit., pp. 178/79).

The artist Heckmann seems to be unrecorded

See colour illustration