Sources cited in the description written by Andrea Spiriti for the 1998 catalogue of the Cariplo Collection but impossible to trace at present indicate that the painting was bought on the antique market as a work attributed to Giuseppe Maria Crespi in 1967.

The inscription “Lionello Spada 1610” appears in pen on the back of the canvas and the same name is found on the stretcher together with a label bearing the words “Giovanni [sic] Maria Crespi”.

While any reference to Lionello Spada, an early 17th century Bolognese artist and follower of Caravaggio, can be ruled out immediately, it does appear reasonable to attribute the canvas to Crespi, known as Spagnolo due to his preference for Spanish-style dress. The use of accentuated chiaroscuro and bright colours, the dramatic portrayal of the figures (e.g. the Christ Child in the act of rising from his seat) and a propensity for characterisation are all stylistic hallmarks of his work.

Attention should be drawn in particular to similarities with some works probably dated after 1710, including the Jesuit Mission of the Detroit Institute of Art [1], where the figures are set in large spaces inside huge edifices that recall the models of the quadratura genre of illusionistic architectural painting then fashionable in Bologna. The work can therefore be attributed to the artist’s mature period, when his vocabulary became personal and laden with pathos.