This painting reinterprets a work created by the Flemish painter, Anthony Van Dyck (1599-1641), a painting influenced by the visual language of Rubens, his teacher from the City of Antwerp.
The composition was brought back to life by the engraver, Schelte Adams Bolswert, who made at least three different designs from the original image, which incorporated corrections in each one of them. The British Museum of London’s stamp, as well as the origin of the painting in the Arocena collection, corresponds to the first series, since it still has an error by the engraver, who forgot to paint the hand used by John to touch the shoulder of the Virgin Mary in the original Van Dyck.