The picture is one of a few highly finished works painted by Fragonard during his first Italian sojourn, from 1756 to 1761. It belonged to the Bailli de Breteuil, who was ambassador to Rome from Malta in 1760. A related oil sketch is in the State Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg. While the figure group reminds us that Fragonard was trained under Boucher, the intensity, the color harmonies, and the warm, dark atmosphere are his own.