"This is an early copy of a work by Annibale Carracci that now hangs in the Uffizi, Florence.
In 1595 Annibale Carracci moved to Rome. Here he adopted a classicising style and was much inspired by the legacy that artists such as Raphael and Correggio had left behind. This graceful and tender scene owes much to the example of these two artists, bearing similarities with Raphael’s Madonna of the Pinks and resonating particularly strongly with Correggio’s The Madonna of the Basket (both National Gallery, London)."