Provenance: Purchased by Isabella Stewart Gardner from the auction of the estate of Étienne-Joseph-Théophile Thoré (better known as Théophile Thoré-Bürger) (1807-1869), the prominent art critic who revived Vermeer's reputation, at the Hotel Drouot, Paris, for 31,175 francs on 5 December 1892, through Fernand Robert, her regular agent in Paris whom she signaled with her handkerchief in the sale room. Stolen in 1990.