[2] The painting depicts Mary, mother of Jesus as the Immaculata, appearing to Saint Lawrence, who gazes at her, and to Francis of Paola, who looks at the viewer while pointing his left hand towards the apparition.

Owing to its flamboyant virtuosity and its expressiveness, the work has long been thought to have been painted by Giovanni Domenico's father, Giovanni Battista, but since 1939, it is accepted as an early masterpiece by the younger Tiepolo.

On account of the stylistic resemblances with Giovanni Battista's paintings, it is thought that it was painted shortly after his death, i.e. 1770, when Giovanni Domenico was still carrying his father's mantle while beginning to develop his own, more realistic and even naturalistic style (here visible in the trompe-l'œil basket at the lower edge of the painting).

[1] The painting was bought in 1898 by Wilhelm von Bode from the Florentine art dealer Elia Volpi [it], and entered the collections in 1900.

Between 1810 and 1879, it had belonged to the parish church of Cavenzano, Chiesa di Santa Maria Assunta (Cavenzano) [it], now part of the commune of Campolongo Tapogliano, where it was replaced by a faithful copy.