The original painted in 1573, on canvas, 76 x 63.5 cm, was aquired 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 earlier this century (see A. Brejon de Lavergnée and D. Thièbaut, Catalogue Sommaire...du Louvre, II, Italie, Espagne etc., 1981, p.41). The present lot omits the border of flowers which according to Lavergnée and Thièbaut was probably added in the 17th century.