This work of art made its way to the Imperial Hermitage with the celebrated collection of Sir Robert Walpole in the late eighteenth century, the time when Catherine the Great made major acquisitions of artworks. Upon its arrival at the Hermitage Museum, the painting was first attributed to Quentin Massys, then to his studio, and it was not until the twentieth century that its author was identified as Marinus van Reymerswaele (1490 – c. 1567). The last conservation treatment removed the dark yellowed lacquer and later overpaints on the original layer of painting, restoring the damaged areas of the canvas. Visitors can thus see the original version of the painting, as intended by the artist.