This work was executed early in Titian’s career while the artist came under the spell of the enigmatic Giorgione, a painter who delighted in fashioning landscapes of a sombre, poetic mood. It is today thought to be a product of Titian and his workshop. In the Sale inventory the painting is referred to as the “Egyptian Madonna”. This work was copied by Peter Oliver in miniature (limning). indicating it was one of the King's most cherished pictures