It is one of a series of six paintings commissioned to the artist by Archbishop Pierre Guérin de Tencin and his archepiscopal palace at Lyon; the others were The Death of Lucretia, The Death of Cleopatra, The Judgement of Solomon, The Idolatry of Solomon and The Woman Caught in Adultery.

[1] The paintinf depicts, in the foreground, Jesus, who is seated near Jacob's Well, while speaking to the kneeling Samaritan woman.

In the distance, the nearby city of Sychar, enclosed within its ramparts, is visible, spreading along a hill.

Two Apostles of Jesus, depicted as bearded men, who are returning from the city, watch the scene, at the left, with their physiognomies and gestures expressing astonishment and disapproval.

The painter is concerned not with any historical truth, but with the picturesque or exotic details in the depiction of the settings, clothing and hairstyles of the Biblical figures.