When it appeared in portraits, it was treated as ancient attire that suited well the mythical, historical, oriental or biblical subjects.

The original brushwork, prominent in the texture of the painting, became visible on the chest and the right sleeve once the overpainted fragments were removed.

[5] King Stanisław August Poniatowski bought it and The Scholar at the Lectern in 1777 from Elisabeth Henriette Marie Golovkin (daughter of Count Friedrich Paul von Kameke) via the art dealer Jakub Triebl.

He initially displayed them at the Łazienki Palace in Warsaw and after his death they both passed to Józef Poniatowski who in 1813 left them to his sister Maria Teresa Poniatowska.

Ernst van de Wetering argues that the Girl in the Picture Frame is a typical example of Rembrandt’s interest, in the late 1630s and early 1640s, in Trompe-l'œil compositions.

In van de Wetering’s opinion, the present painting is exceptional and can be seen as one of the few works, and possibly their prototype, demonstrating Rembrandt’s short-lived fascination with such questions.

The illusion of breaking up the conventional pictorial space was created by painting the figure in a frame with both hands extending beyond it.